J  K 

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The  Speaker  of 
The  House  of  Representatives 

in  Iowa 


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1 

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1 

B  M   M^T  017 

BY 

B.  UPHAM 


SUBMITTED  TO  THB^PE^ETY  Or    1  HE  GRADUATE  COLLEGE  OF  THE  STATE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  IOWA  IN  NINETEEN-EIGHTEEN  IN  PARTIAL 

FULFILLMENT  OF  THE    REQUIREMENTS  FOR  THE 

DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


ioWa  city  IOWa 
1919 


THE  SPEAKER  OF 
THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

IN  IOWA  -    '^  - 


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Vi. 


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THE  SPEAKEE  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF 
EEPRESENTATIVES  IN  IOWA 

[The  following  monograph  on  The  Speaker  of  the  Souse  of  Bepresentatives 
in  Iowa  presents  a  phase  of  legislative  history  which  is  closely  related  to  the 
researches  published  by  The  State  Historical  Society  of  Iowa  as  Volume  III 
of  the  Iowa  Applied  History  Series  under  the  title  of  Statute  Law-making  in 
Iowa.  It  is  hoped  that  a  similar  account  of  the  President  of  the  Senate  may 
be  prepared  for  publication  in  the  near  future. 

A  list  of  the  Speakers  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  together  with  some 
information  relative  to  the  age,  previous  legislative  experience,  occupation,  and 
party  aflSliations  of  each  will  be  found  on  pages  47-51  below. —  Editor.] 


HISTORICAL  TRADITION  OF  THE  SPEAKERSHIP 

The  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  Iowa  is 
a  direct  descendant  of  the  Speaker  of  the  English  House  of 
Commons.  Along  with  the  Common  Law,  America  inher- 
ited also  the  English  system  of  parliamentary  law.  Thus 
it  is  to  England  that  one  must  look  for  the  origin  of  the 
speakership. 

While  the  earlier  English  assemblies  must  have  had  a 
presiding  officer  of  some  kind,  it  was  not  until  1377  that 
the  term  ** Speaker"  was  used.  In  that  year  Sir  Thomas 
Hungerford  was  formally  assigned  the  title  and  position  of 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons.^  At  first  the  minion  of 
the  crown,  the  Speaker  gradually  advanced  until  in  the 
eighteenth  century  he  attained  his  present  impartial 
character. 

1  The  name  of  Speaker  was  given  to  him  because  his  chief  duty  was  to 
"speak"  for  the  Commons. —  Hansard's  Parliamentary  History  of  England, 
Vol.  I,  p.  351,  in  FoUett's  The  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  pp. 
3,  127. 


U 


.395107 


4     SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

In  the  American  colonies,  the  status  of  the  Speaker  was 
based  upon  that  of  the  seventeenth  century  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Commons;  but  new  conditions  so  altered  and 
modified  the  position  that  there  developed  in  America  a 
very  different  parliamentary  officer.  Early  colonial  strug- 
gles between  the  representative  assemblies  and  the  Gov- 
ernors emphasized  the  importance  of  the  principle  that 
every  deliberative  assembly  should  be  allowed  the  utmost 
freedom  in  the  choice  of  its  own  presiding  officer. 

As  a  rule  it  was  not  because  of  his  knowledge  of  parlia- 
mentary law  or  because  of  his  ability  as  a  presiding  officer 
^ihat  the  colonial  Speaker  was  chosen:  he  was  elevated  to 
the  office  because  he  was  an  active  leader  of  his  party,  with 
the  ability  to  accomplish  party  purposes.  He  did  not,  by 
taking  the  chair,  give  up  his  rights  as  a  representative: 
he  spoke,  voted,  made  motions,  served  on  committees  and 
exercised  all  the  other  prerogatives  of  a  representative. 
His  chief  duties  were  the  preservation  of  order  and  the 
enforcing  of  the  rules.  Essentially  a  political  leader,  he 
sometimes  led  movements  in  opposition  to  the  government. 
Indeed,  the  position  of  the  Speaker  in  colonial  times  has 
been  compared  to  that  of  the  Prime  Minister  of  England, 
as  contradistinguished  from  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Commons.^ 

Presidents  of  the  Continental  Congress  and  the  Congress 
of  the  Confederation  held  the  dual  position  of  moderator 
and  political  leader.  While  the  inherent  powers  of  their 
office  were  not  great,  their  influence  as  party  leaders  was 
far-reaching:  they  did  not  hesitate  to  make  the  position  of 
parliamentary  moderator  subservient  to  that  of  political 
leader. 

In  1787  the  makers  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 

2  Tollett  's  The  Speaker  of  the  Rouse  of  Representatives,  Ch.  I. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES     5 

States  conferred  upon  the  House  of  Representatives  the 
power  of  choosing  its  own  Speaker.^  It  was  undoubtedly 
their  idea  that  he  should  be  a  political  as  well  as  parlia- 
mentary officer. 

The  original  Territory  of  Wisconsin,  established  in  1836, 
was  organized  with  a  legislature  of  two  houses.  At  the 
first  meeting  of  the  Territorial  legislature  the  House  of 
Representatives  elected  a  Speaker  to  preside  over  their  de- 
liberations as  a  matter  of  course,  although  no  provision 
for  such  an  officer  was  made  in  the  Organic  Act.  Two 
years  later  the  same  situation  confronted  the  newly  organ- 
ized government  of  the  Territory  of  Iowa:  here,  too,  the 
House  of  Representatives  organized  by  the  election  of  a 
Speaker, 

LEGAL  STATUS  OF  THE  SPEAKER  IN  IOWA 

The  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  Iowa  is 
not,  in  the  strict  sense,  a  constitutional  officer,  since  the 
position  is  not  definitely  created  nor  election  thereto  spe- 
cifically provided  for  in  the  Constitution  of  the  State.  In 
this  particular  the  status  of  the  Iowa  Speaker  is  different 
from  that  of  the  Speaker  at  Washington.  The  national 
Constitution  provides  that  "the  house  of  representatives 
shall  choose  their  speaker";  while  the  Iowa  Constitution 
merely  declares  that  ''each  house  shall  choose  its  own 
officers"  without  making  any  specific  reference  to  a 
Speaker.^ 

8  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Art.  I,  Sec.  2. 

4  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Art.  I,  Sec.  2 ;  Constitution  of  Iowa, 
1857,  Art.  Ill,  Sec.  7.  The  States  of  the  Union  are  equally  divided  in  this 
respect.  In  just  twenty-four  of  the  forty-eight  States  is  definite  provision 
made  in  the  organic  law  for  the  election  of  a  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives.    In  twenty-three  of  the  State  constitutions  provision  is  made  that 


6     SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

Nor  can  the  Speaker  of  the  Iowa  House  be  said  to  be  a 
statutory  officer.  Indeed  his  statutory  status  is  quite  sim- 
ilar to  his  constitutional  standing.  He  is  recognized  by  the 
Code,  but  his  office  is  not  specifically  created  by  .  law. 
Finally,  there  is  no  definite  provision  for  this  office  in  the 
rules  of  the  House  itself.  Apparently  the  Speaker  in  Iowa 
owes  his  position  to  precedent  alone. 

When  the  First  Legislative  Assembly  of  the  Territory  of 
Iowa  met  in  Burlington  on  the  twelfth  day  of  November, 
1838,  precedent  alone  governed  the  method  of'  its  organ- 
ization. The  Organic  Act  empowered  the  Governor  to 
appoint  a  day  and  place  for  its  meeting;  but  that  instru- 
ment was  silent  on  the  subject  of  its  organization.  Indeed, 
the  Organic  Act  contained  no  mention  whatever  of  a  pre- 
siding officer  in  either  house.  At  the  same  time  it  must 
have  been  generally  understood  that  the  customary  prin- 
ciples of  deliberative  assemblies  were  to  govern,  for  both 
the  Council  and  the  House  of  Representatives  organized  in 
the  usual  manner  without  loss  of  time.^ 

The  House  of  the  First  Legislative  Assembly  made  an 

the  House  of  Representatives  "shall  choose  its  own  officers"  in  this  or  similai 
phrasing.  In  ten  of  these  twenty-three  State  constitutions  —  and  in  this  group 
Iowa  is  included  —  the  Speaker  is,  however,  recognized.  Characteristic  pro- 
visions of  these  constitutions  which  recognize  the  speakership  without  making 
definite  provision  for  it  are  those  making  it  the  duty  of  the  Speaker  to  sign 
all  bills  passed  by  the  legislature;  to  canvass  the  official  vote  for  Governor; 
and  to  act  as  Governor  in  case  of  the  inability  of  that  official  and  of  the 
Lieutenant  Governor. 

In  Massachusetts  and  Tennessee  the  Senate  has  an  elective  presiding  officer. 
In  Massachusetts  he  is  called  President  and  in  Tennessee  Speaker.  This  was 
true  in  Iowa  until  1857,  and  in  the  Iowa  upper  house  as  in  Massachusetts  he 
was  called  President  instead  of  Speaker.  In  Idaho  there  is  a  penalty  fixed 
upon  the  members  of  the  House  if  they  fail  to  perfect  their  organization  within 
four  days  after  a  quorum  is  in  attendance.  Kansas  alone  makes  no  mention 
in  any  way  of  a  Speaker  for  the  House  of  Eepresentatives.  Thus,  in  prac- 
tically every  State,  the  Speaker  is  either  provided  or  recognized  in  the  organic 
law;  and  he  is  in  universal  evidence  throughout  the  Union. 

0  Organic  Act,  Sec.  4;  see  Legislative  Journals  for  1838-1839. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES     7 

attempt  to  provide  for  a  Speaker  in  the  adoption  of  the 
following  rule:  ''The  House  of  Representatives  shall 
choose  by  ballot  one  of  their  own  number  to  occupy  the 
Chair.  He  shall  be  styled  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives."^ Obviously  this  rule  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  election  of  the  Speaker  in  the  session  by  which  it  was 
adopted,  since  its  adoption  followed  the  installation  of  that 
officer  by  several  days.  Nor  was  it  operative  at  elections  in 
later  sessions.  The  Second  Legislative  Assembly  did  not 
(as  is  the  practice  to-day)  adopt  the  rules  of  the  preceding 
Assembly  either  before  or  after  the  permanent  organiza- 
tion. And  so  the  Speaker  of  this  session,  as  at  the  previous 
session,  was  elected  under  no  rules  but  those  of  general 
parliamentary  law. 

In  the  Second  Legislative  Assembly  a  committee  was 
appointed  *'to  prepare  standing  rules  for  the  House  ".'^ 
This  committee,  it  is  evident,  made  rather  extensive  use  of 
the  rules  of  the  national  House  of  Representatives.  Thus 
Rule  I,  as  reported  by  them  and  as  adopted  by  the  Assem- 
bly, is  almost  identical  with  Section  I  of  Rule  I  of  the  House 
at  "Washington  —  a  rule  which  has  been  in  force  in  that 
body  since  1789,  when  it  was  adopted,  and  the  form  of 
which  has  not  been  changed  since  1824.  While  this  rule 
does  not  make  provision  for  the  election  of  a  Speaker,  it 
assumes  that  such  an  officer  is  to  be  elected.* 

Rules  I  to  X  as  adopted  by  the  First  Legislative  Assem- 
bly were  grouped  under  the  heading,  * '  Touching  the  Duty 
OF  THE  Speaker",  and  Rule  I  read:  *'He  [the  Speaker] 
shall  take  the  chair  every  day  precisely  at  the  hour  to  which 
the  House  shall  have  adjourned  on  the  preceding  day;  shall 

«  House  Bules,  1838-1839,  Rule  1. 
7  House  Journal,  1839-1840,  p.  6. 
«  House  Manual  and  Digest,  3rd  Session,  63rd  Congress,  p.  269-n. 


8     SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

immediately  call  the  members  to  order,  and  on  the  appear- 
ance of  a  quorum,  shall  cause  the  journal  of  the  preceding 
day  to  be  read."  The  wording  of  this  rule  has  been  pre- 
served almost  without  change  from  that  time  to  the  present. 
Other  references  to  the  Speaker  are  found  throughout  the 
Rules  of  the  House  as  well  as  in  the  Joint  Rules. ^ 

The  Second  Legislative  Assembly  also  recognized  the 
need  for  some  statutory  provision  for  the  presiding  officers 
of  the  two  houses  by  the  enactment  of  a  statute  which  pro- 
vided that  ''after  the  decision  of  all  cases  of  contested 
elections,  the  Council  shall  proceed  to  elect  a  president", 
and  ''the  House  shall  proceed  to  elect  a  speaker ".^^  Under 
this  statute  the  Speaker  became  a  statutory  officer.  But 
these  specific  provisions  of  law  were  not  retained  in  the 
Code  of  1851,  which  provided  simply  that  "when  the  above 
conamittee  [Credentials]  has  reported,  those  who  are  re- 
ported as  holding  certificates  of  election  from  the  proper 
authority  shall  proceed  to  the  permanent  organization  of 
their  respective  houses  by  the  election  of  officers.  "^^  Be- 
sides this  provision,  which  has  survived  down  to  the  present 
day,  the  Code  of  1897  also  fixes  the  term  of  the  Speaker  and 
makes  provision  that  he  shall  act  as  presiding  officer  in 
joint  conventions  of  the  House  and  Senate  in  case  the 
President  of  the  Senate  is  absent.  Herein,  too,  is  fixed  the 
compensation  of  the  Speaker's  clerk  and  the  Speaker's 
page.^^ 

Undoubtedly  the  framers   of  both  the  Constitution   of 

»  Eouse  Bules,  1839-1840,  Eule  1,  1917,  Rule  1. 

10  Laws  of  Iowa,  1839-1840,  Ch.  66,  Sees.  5,  10,  p.  39. 

11  Code  of  1851,  Ch.  2,  Sec.  8. 

12  Code  of  1897,  Ch.  2,  Sees.  9,  13,  17,  23. 

The  President  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate  has  in  recent  years  presided  as 
President  of  the  Joint  Convention  for  the  inaugural  of  the  Governor  and 
Lieutenant  Governor. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES     9 

1846  and  of  the  Constitution  of  1857  intended  that  there 
should  be  a  Speaker  in  the  lower  house  of  the  General 
Assembly,  since  they  imposed  duties  upon  him.  Thus  the 
present  Constitution  provides  that  "every  bill  having 
passed  both  houses,  shall  be  signed  by  the  Speaker  and 
President  of  their  respective  houses";  that  "the  returns 
of  every  election  for  Governor,  and  Lieutenant  Governor, 
shall  be  sealed  up  and  transmitted  to  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment of  the  State,  directed  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  who  shall  open  and  publish  them  in  the 
presence  of  both  Houses  of  the  General  Assembly";  and 
that  "if  the  President  of  the  Senate  ....  shall  be 
rendered  incapable  of  performing  the  duties  pertaining  to 
the  office  of  Governor,  the  same  shall  devolve  upon  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives."^^ 

Thus  it  is  seen  that,  although  the  position  of  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  in  Iowa  was  not  created  by 
constitutional  provision  as  was  the  office  of  Speaker  of  the 
national  House,  he  is  nevertheless  given  distinct  recogni- 
tion both  in  the  Constitution  and  in  the  statute  laws  of  the 
State. 

Ill 

DETERMINING  FACTORS  IN  THE  ELECTION  OF  THE 
SPEAKER  IN  IOWA 

The  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  Iowa  is 
an  important  part  of  the  machinery  of  State  government. 
His  real  power  is  as  great  as  his  legal  status  is  indefinite. 

13  Constitution  of  Iowa,  1857,  Art.  Ill,  Sec.  15,  Art.  IV,  Sees.  3,  19. —  For 
corresponding  provisions  in  the  Constitution  of  1846,  see  Art.  IV,  Sec.  16,  and 
Art.  V,  Sees.  4,  19. 

The  Speaker  formally  complies  with  the  requirement  that  he  "open  and 
publish"  the  returns  of  the  election  for  Governor  and  Lieutenant  Governor: 
he  breaks  the  seal. 


10  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

Through  the  privileges  of  committee  appointments  and 
recognition  on  the  floor  his  influence  is  indeed  tremendous. 
The  office  that  is  ''considered  second  only  to  that  of  gov- 
ernor of  the  state"  and  really  is  ''the  most  important  in 
the  General  Assembly"  should  be  given  more  general 
recognition." 

To  gain  a  proper  conception  of  the  parliamentary  and 
political  status  of  the  Speaker,  attention  must  be  given  to 
the  process  by  which  he  obtains  his  office.  In  the  choice  of 
its  Speaker,  the  Iowa  House  is  subject  to  no  legal  restric- 
tion; but  a  parliamentary  custom  which  has  its  roots  in 
State  and  national  precedent  requires  that  he  shall  be  a 
member  of  the  House  itself.  Thus  the  only  essential  quali- 
fications are  those  required  of  all  members  of  the  House  of 
Representatives :  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  citizenship, 
and  residence  within  the  State.^^ 

Various  considerations  enter  into  the  choice  of  a  Speaker. 
Some  are  selected  because  of  their  peculiar  fitness  for  the 
position,  or  because  of  their  personal  popularity;  others 
because  of  the  circumstances  of  the  situation;  and  still 
others  because  of  their  political  opinions.  While  it  is  true 
that  personality,  knowledge  of  parliamentary  law,  and 
previous  legislative  experience  are  taken  into  consideration, 
probably  the  dominant  determinant  is  the  political  slant 
of  the  candidate. 

While  sectional  rivalry  is  not  so  pronounced  in  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  Iowa  as  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 

^*  The  Begister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  April  1,  1907;  Muscatine  Daily 
Journal,  January  9,  1864;  House  Journal,  1907,  p.  4.  The  Speaker  of  the 
national  House  is  recognized  as  "the  second  political  figure  in  the  United 
States"  and  has  been  characterized  as  "the  most  interesting  and  important 
legislative  officer  in  the  American  Commonwealth,  if  not  in  the  world." — 
Bryce's  American  Commonwealth  (1910  Edition),  Vol.  I,  p.  142;  Woodburn'a 
The  American  Bepuhlic,  p.  264. 

15  Constitution  of  Iowa,  1857,  Art.  Ill,  See.  4. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  H 

States,  it  has  nevertheless  played  a  part  in  the  election  of 
Speakers.^*^  Thus  sectional  interests  were  decisive  in  the 
election  of  the  Speaker  in  the  First  Legislative  Assembly. 
The  membership  of  the  House  at  that  session  was  prin- 
cipally from  the  southern  half  of  the  State.  Fifteen  of  the 
twenty-six  members  were  from  the  four  southern  counties 
of  Lee,  Van  Buren,  Henry,  and  Des  Moines;  while  four 
more  were  from  Muscatine,  Louisa,  and  Slaughter  (now 
Washington ).i^  William  H.  Wallace,  of  Henry  County, 
was  chosen  Speaker.  Party  politics  seems  not  to  have  been 
a  determining  factor  in  this  election:  both  houses  were 
Democratic,  but  each  elected  a  WTiig  for  presiding  officer. 
The  sectional  factor  was  of  more  or  less  importance 
throughout  the  Territorial  period ;  and  while  it  has  exerted 
some  influence  since  then,  it  has  seldom  been  of  prime  im- 
portance. There  may  be  some  significance  in  the  fact  that 
the  first  two  Speakers  after  the  removal  of  the  capital  to 
Des  Moines  —  Stephen  B.  Shelledy  of  Jasper  County,  in 
the  Seventh  General  Assembly,  and  John  Edwards  of  Lucas 
County,  in  the  Eighth  General  Assembly  —  were  the  first 
Speakers  chosen  from  a  county  which  was  any  considerable 
distance  from  the  Mississippi  Eiver.  The  Speaker  of  the 
Ninth  General  Assembly  was  Rush  Clark  of  Iowa  City,  the 
very  place  from  which  the  capital  had  been  removed. 

The   personal   popularity   of  the   candidate   himself   is 

16  A  map  of  Iowa  showing  the  distribution  of  Speakers  by  counties  shows 
the  great  majority  of  them  in  the  eastern  half  of  the  State,  with  the  whole 
of  northwestern  Iowa  (twenty-nine  counties)  represented  by  but  one  Speaker 
—  Cunningham  of  Buena  Vista  in  the  Thirty-fifth  General  Assembly.  Polk 
and  Woodbury,  the  counties  in  which  are  situated  the  two  largest  cities  of  the 
State  —  one  of  them  the  capital  —  have  neither  one  succeeded  in  securing  the 
speakership.  The  city  of  Dubuque  has  not  furnished  a  Speaker  since  Iowa 
became  a  State,  and  Davenport  not  since  the  very  early  State  period,  yet 
Waterloo  has  furnished  three  of  Iowa's  Speakers. 

i7Reid's  Thomas  Cox,  p.  78;  House  Journal,  1838-1839,  p.  14. 


12  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

oftentimes  a  strong  factor  in  the  selection  of  a  Speaker. 
Always  an  important  consideration,  it  is  occasionally  the 
deciding  influence  in  the  choice  of  a  particular  man.  Per- 
sonality loomed  large  in  the  election  of  Edward  Johnstone 
in  the  Second  Legislative  Assembly.  He  was  easily  the 
most  commanding  figure  of  the  session.  Over  six  feet  tall, 
''he  had  a  face  evidencing  great  culture,  ever  bright  and 
intelligent,  a  head  in  keeping  with  his  stalwart  form  and  a 
manner  dignified,  courtly  and  most  impressive."  Known 
as  a  successful  young  lawyer,  he  had  served  as  a  clerk  in 
the  Wisconsin  legislature  in  1837.  "To  his  surprise  he  had 
hardly  stretched  his  long  legs  under  the  primitive  desk  in 
the  Assembly's  first  capital  —  before  his  future  colleagues, 

taking  him  at  his  face-value,  elected  him  speaker  of  the 
House!  "18 

Thomas  Cox  of  Jackson  County,  Speaker  of  the  Third 
Legislative  Assembly,  also  owed  his  election  partly  to  his 
popular  standing  among  his  fellow  members  —  as  well  as 
to  his  previous  legislative  experience.  In  Illinois  he  had 
been  State  Senator  from  1818  to  1820;  while  in  the  Terri- 
tory of  Iowa  he  had  received  votes  for  Speaker  at  both  of 
the  previous  sessions  as  well  as  at  the  extra  session. 
Warner  Lewis,  who  was  not  a  fluent  talker,  was  ' '  neverthe- 
less always  listened  to  with  attention,  for  his  friendships 
were  so  sincere,  his  amiability  so  admired,  his  sincerity  so 
admitted  that  he  always  commanded  respect.  "^^ 

"Honest  John"  Edwards,  of  Lucas  County,  Speaker  of 
the  Eighth  General  Assembly,  may  be  included  among  those 
chosen  because  of  personal  charm.  He  was  characterized 
as  "so  genial  and  popular  in  his  manners,  so  well-informed 
in  parliamentary  law,  and  so  well  and  favorably  known 

18  Iowa  Historical  Becord,  Vol.  IX,  p.  490 ;  Brigham  's  Iowa,  Its  History  and 
Its  Foremost  Citizens,  Vol.  I,  p.  125. 

19  The  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  XII,  p.  118. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  13 

over  tlie  State,  that  lie  had  no  opposition  in  the  party 
caucus."  There  was  a  ''fighting  minority"  in  this  session 
and  Edwards  was  chosen,  so  it  was  claimed,  because  ''it 
was  a  matter  of  much  moment  to  have  a  presiding  officer 
who  united  a  thorough  knowledge  of  parliamentary  rules, 
with  energy  of  character  to  enforce  them,  on  all  occasions." 
Undoubtedly  Speaker  Edwards  was  well  acquainted  with 
parliamentary  law ;  but  when  it  came  to  enforcing  the  rules 
and  controlling  a  "filibuster"  session,  he  was  a  failure  — 
for  which  ill  health  may  have  been  responsible.^^ 

Rush  Clark  of  Iowa  City  was  very  popular  among  his 
contemporaries  in  the  General  Assembly,  and  probably  not 
a  few  of  the  votes  cast  for  him  as  Speaker  of  the  Ninth 
General  Assembly  in  1862  were  given  because  of  personal 
admiration.  Of  Jacob  Butler,  Speaker  of  the  House  in 
1864,  it  was  said:  "His  eminent  fitness  for  the  position, 
more  than  any  efforts  of  his  friends  or  himself,  put  him  in 
the  front  rank  at  the  very  first  talk  about  the  organization 
of  the  House,  and  the  more  his  merits  were  canvassed  the 
stronger  became  the  conviction  that  he  should  be  placed  in 
this  responsible  and  honorable  position  ".^^  But  it  was  left 
for  James  Wilson  in  1872  to  be  "the  man  in  whose  hand 
the  gavel  of  the  House  has  for  the  first  time  in  the  history 
of  the  State  been  placed  by  the  cordial  consent  of  all  the 
members  of  his  own  party  ".^^  John  Y.  Stone,  of  Mills 
County,  Speaker  of  the  Seventeenth  General  Assembly,  re- 
ceived ninety-four  votes  for  Speaker. out  of  ninety-nine 
votes  cast.  He  received  "the  [hitherto]  unequalled  Iowa 
compliment  given  him  by  his  own  party  in  nominating  him 
as  Speaker  by  acclamation"  and  the  "nearly  unanimous 

20  Pioneer  Lawmakers '  Association  of  Iowa,  Proceedings,  1886,  p.  22 ;  Daily 
Iowa  State  Register  (Des  Moines),  January  18,  1860. 

21  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  January  9,  1864. 

22  Iowa  State  Weekly  Begister  (Des  Moines),  January  10,  1872. 


14  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

vote  of  the  Democratic  members  for  his  election.  "^^  Lore 
Alford  was  also  nominated  by  acclamation  of  his  party  as 
Speaker  of  the  Eighteenth  General  Assembly .^^ 

The  Speaker  of  the  Twenty-first  General  Assembly, 
Captain  Albert  Head,  was  referred  to  as  **its  best  man", 
although  his  election  turned  upon  a  definite  political  issue. 
W.  0.  Mitchell,  chosen  by  the  Twenty-fourth  General  As- 
sembly, was  a  man  who  stood  high  in  the  estimates  of  his 
fellows.  ''An  old  soldier,  but  still  a  young  man;  a  lawyer, 
but  closely  identified  with  the  farming  interests  of  the  state ; 
a  natural  leader,  without  imperiousness,  he  is  well  qualified 
for  the  position."  The  leadership  of  the  House  in  1902  was 
given  to  Willard  L.  Eaton  of  Mitchell  County  largely  be- 
cause of  the  splendid  record  he  had  made  in  the  Twenty- 
eighth  General  Assembly  of  1900.^^ 

The  election  of  Arch  W.  McFarlane  as  Speaker  in  1919 
was  a  tribute  to  his  genuine  ability  and  his  work  in  the 
previous  session.  In  1917  he  had  served  as  Speaker  pro 
tempore,  and  exerted  his  influence  for  progressive  legis- 
lation. The  return  to  the  House  in  1919  of  the  majority  of 
the  ''progressive"  faction  of  1917  assured  him  generous 
support.  There  are  few  instances  on  record  of  the  Speaker 
pro  tempore  of  one  session  being  Speaker  at  a  later  session. 
N.  E.  Kendall  and  H.  W.  Byers  were  promoted  in  this  way 
although  Kendall  was  not  elected  Speaker  until  several 
years  after  he  served  as  Speaker  pro  tempore. 

George  W.  Clarke,  of  Dallas  County,  one  of  the  few  men 
who  have  served  as  Speaker  during  two  regular  sessions  of 
the  House,  was  slated  for  the  position  long  before  the  ses- 

23  Iowa   State   WeeMy  Begister    (Des   Moines),   January    18,    1878;    House 
Journal,  1878,  p.  7. 

2* Iowa  State  WeeMy  Register  (Des  Moines),  January  16,  1880. 

26  Iowa  City  Daily  Bepuhlican,  January  14,  1886;  The  Iowa  State  Begister 
(Weekly,  Des  Moines),  January  15,  1892. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  15 

sion  of  the  Thirtieth  General  Assembly  opened.  A  Des 
Moines  newspaper,  at  the  opening  of  the  session,  said: 
' '  There  never  has  been  any  doubt  that  George  W.  Clarke  of 
Adel  will  be  elected  speaker  of  the  house  for  the  coming 
session. ' '  He  merited  the  confidence  of  his  colleagues,  for 
at  the  end  of  his  first  session  as  Speaker  it  was  said  that 
"no  word  of  criticism  ever  has  been  heard  of  him",  and  he 
was  said  to  be  ''the  best  speaker  the  house  has  had  for 
fifteen  years. ' '  Perhaps  the  reason  for  his  second  election 
as  Speaker  was  due  to  his  outstanding  success,  coupled  with 
the  unusual  circumstance  that  the  membership  of  the 
Thirty-first  General  Assembly  was  exactly  the  same  as  that 
of  the  Thirtieth,  in  consequence  of  the  adoption  of  the  bi- 
ennial election  amendment  in  1904.^® 

Military  prestige  has  also  played  a  part  in  some  of  the 
elections  to  the  speakership.  Thomas  Cox  served  in  the 
War  of  1812  and  in  the  Black  Hawk  War.  General  Warner 
Lewis  had  also  seen  service  in  the  Black  Hawk  War. 
James  M.  Morgan  gained  his  title  of  ** General"  by  "gal- 
lant and  meritorious  service  in  the  Boundary  war  with 
Missouri."  General  Jesse  B.  Browne  had  seen  military 
service.  Captain  Albert  Head,  Colonel  Shelledy,  W.  0. 
Mitchell,  and  others  were  old  soldier s.^'''  This  factor  was 
decisive  in  the  election  of  Speaker  in  the  Eleventh  General 
Assembly  in  1866.  There  were  two  leading  candidates  — 
Ben  Darwin  and  Ed  Wright.  "At  first  the  honors  seemed 
tending  toward  the  great  lawyer  [Darwin],  but  when  it  was 
discovered  that  forty-three  of  the  one  hundred  members 
had  recently  doffed  the  blue  uniform,  there  was  a  sudden 

26  The  Begister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  8,  April  12,  1904,  Janu- 
ary 8,  1906. 

27Keid's  Thomas  Cox,  Chs.  II,  V,  and  VI;  Iowa  historical  Record,  Vol.  IV, 
p.  142 ;  Brigham  's  Iowa,  Its  History  and  Its  Foremost  Citizens,  Vol.  I,  p.  166 ; 
Pioneer  Lawmakers'  Association  of  Iowa,  Proceedings,  1894,  p.  65,  1907,  p.  42. 


16  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OP  REPRESENTATIVES 

rallying  to  the  standard  of  the  tall  form  of  the  gallant 
General."  His  military  record  proved  no  advantage  to 
W.  P.  Wolf,  however,  in  his  contest  with  G.  R.  Struble  for 
the  speakership  in  the  Nineteenth  General  Assembly. 

The  causes  which  have  determined  the  election  of  Speaker 
have  varied  from  session  to  session.  John  Russell  was 
probably  given  many  votes  because  of  his  unquestioned 
superiority  in  parliamentary  law  and  his  efforts  to  secure 
more  perfect  rules  in  the  House.  Ed  Wright,  too,  was  *'a 
perfect  cyclopedia  of  information  upon  parliamentary 
law",  and  was  often  called  on  by  Speakers  to  straighten 
out  parliamentary  tangles.  More  lawyers  have  served  as 
Speaker  than  any  other  one  class ;  but  there  is  a  feeling  in 
Iowa  that  the  farmers  should  receive  their  share  of  speaker- 
ship honors.^^  James  Wilson  is  remembered  as  the  success- 
ful ''farmer  speaker"  of  Iowa.  The  election  of  Albert 
Head  in  1886  was  spoken  of  as  "a  victory  for  the  farmer 
or  anti-monopoly  element  of  the  Republican  party  over  the 
railroad  interests" — although  Head  himself  was  not  a 
farmer.  W.  0.  Mitchell  was  hailed  as  ''the  first  farmer 
speaker  since  the  Hon.  James  Wilson  graced  the  speaker's 
chair  some  twenty  years  ago".  Milton  B.  Pitt,  Speaker  of 
the  House  in  1917,  was  declared  to  have  "no  other  business 
than  that  of  farming."  Arch  W.  McFarlane  was  alleged 
to  be  an  "  open  and  avowed  enemy  of  the  farmers ' ' —  an 
allegation  which  is  unimportant  except  that  it  indicates  the 
recognition  of  a  farmer  interest  in  the  election.^^ 

28  This  attitude  is  revealed  in  the  following  newspaper  paragraph :  "  It  looks 
as  if  handicraft  was  faring  pretty  well  in  Iowa  just  now.  A  harness-maker  is 
Senator-elect,  a  shoemaker  is  Speaker-elect,  and  a  jeweler  has  just  been  in- 
augurated Governor.  The  farmers  should  see  to  this. ' ' —  Iowa  State  Weekly 
Begister  (Des  Moines),  January  20,  1882. 

20  Pioneer  Lawmalcers'  Association  of  Iowa,  Proceedings,  1886,  p.  22,  1894, 
p.  65;  Iowa  City  Daily  Bepuhlican,  January  14,  1886;  Iowa  Official  Begister, 
1886,  p.  18;  The  Iowa  State  Begister  (Weekly,  Des  Moines),  January  15,  1892; 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  17 

The  election  of  J.  H.  Funk  as  Speaker  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  General  Assembly  was  spoken  of  as  ''first  of  all  a 
recognition  of  his  services  in  the  interests  of  the  tax  pay- 
ers." Willard  L.  Eaton  was  unsuccessful  in  his  fight  for 
the  office  in  the  Twenty-eighth  General  Assembly  because 
''he  courageously  based  his  whole  campaign  upon  the 
organization  of  the  house  by  the  representatives  who  fa- 
vored the  nomination  of  Hon.  A.  B.  Cummins  for  senator. 
It  is  conceded  that  Mr.  Eaton  would  have  been  nominated 
for  speaker  if  he  had  not  made  the  senatorship  the  sole 
issue".  Paul  E.  Stillman  said  in  1911 :  "My  candidacy  for 
the  speakership  has  been  based  squarely  upon  the  principle 
that  no  committee  chairmanship  or  other  favors  within  the 
gift  of  the  chair  should  be  promised  or  in  any  way  dis- 
counted or  pledged  in  advance  ....  and  if  I  am 
elected,  it  will  be  because  this  idea  has  found  favor  with 
the  membership  of  the  house."  After  the  election  of  a 
Speaker  in  1917,  one  of  the  prominent  members  of  the 
House  declared : ' '  The  election  of  Mr.  Pitt  for  speaker  may 
be  regarded  as  an  indication  of  the  strength  of  sentiment 
for  road  law  revision  in  the  house  ".^*^ 

The  Bes  Moines  Register,  January  7,  1917,  January  11,  1919.     Mitchell  was 
also  the  first  native  lowan  to  be  Speaker  of  the  Iowa  House. 

30  The  Iowa  State  Begister  (Weekly,  Des  Moines),  January  14,  1898,  Janu- 
ary 12,  1900;  The  Begister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  5,  1911;  The 
Des  Moines  Begister,  January  10,  1917. 

The  press  of  the  State,  and  especially  of  the  city  of  Des  Moines,  takes  an 
active  interest  in  the  election  of  Speaker.  Usually  they  do  not  openly  take 
sides  in  the  controversy  in  their  pages.  But  in  the  campaign  of  1900  The  Iowa 
State  Begister  was  strong  in  its  support  of  Eaton,  who  was  beaten  by  Bowen, 
and  criticised  severely  the  "political  deals"  of  Mr.  J.  E.  Blythe,  the  opposi- 
tion leader. —  The  Iowa  State  Begister  (Weekly,  Des  Moines),  January  12, 1900. 

Even  the  foreign  language  newspapers  of  the  State  are  interested  in  the 
election  of  Speaker.  While  the  only  comment  one  of  them  made  in  1884,  when 
the  election  resulted  in  a  triangular  vote  of  fifty,  forty-one,  and  seven,  was 
"ziemlich  knapp";  the  same  paper  said  four  years  later:  "Wer  Sprecher  des 
Hauses  werden  wird  ist  schwer  zu  sagen,  an  Kandidaten  fehlt  es  aber  nicht. 


18  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

One  element  of  not  inconsiderable  importance  in  the 
choice  of  Speaker  is  the  anxious  interest  of  individual  mem- 
bers and  of  business  forces.  Private  benefit  or  public  rec- 
ognition may  come  to  a  member  through  the  election  of 
some  candidate  he  favors;  and  favorable  legislation  may 
result  from  the  support  of  a  corporation.  In  a  close  strug- 
gle, hard  work  and  substantial  inducements  may  swing  the 
election.  The  candidate  himself  has  opportunity  to  gain 
votes  by  preelection  promises.  Often  a  formidable  oppo- 
nent may  be  won  over  by  the  promise  of  an  important  chair- 
manship. Governor  Gear  was  criticised  in  the  newspapers 
in  1880  for  engaging  in  the  contest  over  the  speakership 
with  the  ' 'long-headed  view  of  advancing  his  chances  of 
strength  for  the  United  States  Senate  in  the  future. ' '  The 
Speaker  of  the  Thirty- seventh  General  Assembly  doubtless 
owed  his  election  in  part  to  the  active  support  of  Governor 
Harding.  In  the  bitter  contest  within  the  Eepublican  party 
for  the  speakership  of  the  Twenty-eighth  General  Assem- 
bly, charges  of  corporation  influence  were  made,  and  the 
Bowen  men  were  openly  called  ''trust  organs".  During 
the  contest  for  the  position  of  Speaker  in  the  1915  session 
"charges  that  corporation  influence,  the  liquor  interests 
and  various  other  so-called  insidious  influences  were  at 
work  for  this  candidate  or  that  were  passed  back  and  forth 
but  did  not  become  serious  issues.  The  really  prominent 
and  determining  factor  was  the  personal  influence  which 
workers  on  both  sides  were  exerting  upon  their  friends.  "^^ 
Tardy  charges  of  corporation  influence  were  circulated  in 

HofPentlich  wird  es  nicht  ein  rabiater  Fanatiker  sein". —  Iowa  Staats-Anzeiger 
(Des  Moines),  January  18,  1884,  January  5,  1888. 

31  Iowa  State  Weekly  Begister  (Des  Moines),  January  16,  1880;  The  Iowa 
State  Begister  (Weekly,  Des  Moines),  January  12,  1900;  TTie  Register  and 
Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  9,  1915.  In  1896  the  Iowa  Federation  of 
Building  and  Loan  Associations  was  active  in  support  of  H.  W.  Byers  for 
Speaker. —  House  Journal,  1897,  p.  511. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  19 

the  1919  campaign ;  but  little  heed  seems  to  have  been  given 
them. 

The  qualities  which  should  be  possessed  by  a  Speaker 
were  summed  up  by  Kepresentative  Teter,  of  Marion,  in 
nominating  N.  E.  Kendall  for  Speaker  of  the  House  of  the 
Thirty-second  General  Assembly.  He  should  be  ''broad 
enough  to  forget  the  while  that  he  is  a  partisan.  He  should 
be  liberal;  yet,  consistent,  conscientious  and  fearless.  He 
should  be  slow  of  decision;  yet,  steadfast  in  purpose  and 
devoted  to  the  faith  of  conviction.  He  should  be  conserva- 
tive; yet,  progressive  in  the  leadership  of  men  and  affairs.'* 
Representative  Rube  McFerren  in  placing  Milton  B.  Pitt 
before  the  session  of  1917  declared  that  the  Speaker  should 
have  ability,  wisdom,  honor,  courage,  and  patriotism.^^ 

But  after  all  the  office  is  primarily  political  and  "the 
choice  of  a  Speaker  depends  less  upon  his  qualities  as  a 
moderator,  his  experience  as  a  public  man,  and  his  personal 
character,  than  upon  the  complex  interplay  of  political  fac- 
tions striving  for  mastery  in  their  own  party.  "^^  For  it 
must  be  remembered  that  as  a  rule  in  Iowa  one  party  or  the 
other  has  been  supreme.  In  the  early  days  the  Democrats 
had  sufficient  strength  to  enable  them  to  select  their  own 
Speaker.  At  some  few  sessions  there  has  been  a  rather 
even  balance  between  parties.  Of  late  years,  however,  the 
Republican  party  has  been  so  much  superior  in  numbers 
that  a  nomination  by  the  party  caucus  has  virtually  meant 
an  election  by  the  House.  Indeed,  from  the  session  of  1856- 
1857  down  to  the  present  every  Speaker  but  one  —  John  T. 
Hamilton  in  the  Twenty-third  General  Assembly  —  has 
been  a  Republican.  There  is,  of  course,  always  some  danger 
of  one  faction  of  the  majority  party  uniting  with  the  mi- 

32  Bouse  Journal,  1907,  p.  5,  1917,  p.  7. 

asFollett's  The  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  p.  33. 


20  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

nority  party  to  elect  a  Speaker.  Such  a  course  is  often 
predicted,  and  one  faction  may  use  it  as  a  threat  to  secure 
recognition.  It  seldom  happens,  however,  that  such  a  coali- 
tion occurs.  In  the  organization  of  the  House  of  the  First 
General  Assembly  the  members  from  Lee  County  held  the 
balance  of  power.  By  a  large  non-partisan  vote  three  Whig 
and  two  Democratic  representatives  had  been  elected  from 
that  county,  the  ''regular"  Democratic  candidates  being 
defeated.  To  secure  the  solid  vote  of  this  delegation  in  the 
election  of  United  States  Senators  and  Supreme  Court 
Judges,  the  Democratic  House  elected  Jesse  B.  Browne  of 
Lee  County,  a  Whig,  as  its  Speaker.  In  1874  the  Inde- 
pendents were  so  divided  between  the  two  parties  as  to 
create  a  deadlock.  The  election  of  Speaker  Pitt  in  1917 
was  not  only  partisan,  but  factional.^"* 

IV 
THE  CHOICE  OF  SPEAKER  IN  THE  PARTY  CAUCUS 

The  election  of  a  Speaker  by  the  House  in  legislative 
session  has  become  little  more  than  a  form :  the  real  election 
occurs  in  the  caucus  of  the  majority  party  before  the  ses- 
sion opens.  Thus  the  House  does  not,  strictly  speaking, 
choose  its  Speaker:  the  majority  party  dictates  who  shall 
preside. 

The  party  caucus  has  existed  in  Iowa  practically  from  the 
organization  of  the  Territory.  True,  it  played  no  part  in 
the  election  of  William  H.  Wallace  as  Speaker  of  the  First 
Legislative  Assembly;  for  in  that  session  the  vote  was 
purely  sectional  and  distinctly  non-partisan.  But  the  elec- 
tion at  the  following  session  was  undoubtedly  the  result  of 

s*Iowa  City  Standard,  November  11,  25,  1846;  The  Annals  of  Iowa  (First 
Series),  Vol.  X,  p.  203;  Iowa  State  Weekly  Begister  (Des  Moines),  January  16, 
1874. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  21 

political  forethouglit,  although  the  caucus  was  probably 
more  or  less  informal  and  had  nothing  of  the  perfection  of 
organization  which  characterizes  it  to-day.  Unfortunately 
the  newspapers  of  this  period  gave  little  comment  on  the 
elections  in  the  legislature  —  being  chiefly  concerned  with 
the  disposition  of  the  public  printing.  Moreover,  the  party 
caucus  of  this  period  was  a  secret  affair:  newspaper  re- 
porters were  not  freely  admitted  as  they  are  to-day.  It 
appears,  however,  that  some  interest  was  taken  in  the  elec- 
tion of  Speaker  before  the  session  opened ;  and  it  is  a  tribute 
to  the  power  of  the  Speaker  that  we  find  an  editor  can- 
vassing for  the  election  of  a  particular  candidate  in  order 
to  secure  the  public  printing.  The  following  statement  ap- 
peared in  one  of  the  Burlington  papers  during  the  session 
of  the  Second  Legislative  Assembly:  ''A  few  weeks  since 
the  editor  of  the  Gazette  was  charged  in  this  paper  with 
having  written  to  members  of  the  Legislature,  in  order  to 
influence  them  to  vote  for  the  present  incumbent  as  speaker. 
It  was  done  through  the  representations  of  those  who  we 
supposed  knew  all  about  the  matter."  The  editor  admitted 
that  he  knew  nothing  personally  of  the  matter  except  in  one 
instance.  It  is  significant,  however,  that  later  in  the  session 
the  Hawheye  was  awarded  the  printing  of  the  House 
Journal  —  with  two  members,  one  of  whom  was  Speaker 
Johnstone,  voting  in  the  negative.^*^ 

It  is  a  far  cry  from  the  caucus  (if  it  may  be  called  such) 
of  that  session  to  the  highly  developed  and  efficiently  re- 
sponsible machine  of  the  present.  To-day  it  is  the  usual 
thing  for  letters  to  be  written  urging  members  to  vote  for 
certain  candidates  for  Speaker,  and  attempting  to  secure 
their  pledges  so  to  do.  In  1917  at  least  one  of  the  candi- 
dates carried  on  an  extensive  campaign  by  mail  and  secured 

35  J/ie  Annals  of  Iowa  (First  Series),  Vol.  Ill,  p.  449;  Hawlceye  and  Iowa 
Patriot  (Burlington),  November  28,  1839,  January  16,  1840. 


22  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

pledges  of  support  from  all  parts  of  the  State.  Much  per- 
sonal campaigning  is  done  by  the  friends  of  the  various 
candidates  weeks  before  the  session  opens,  and  the  ten  days 
previous  to  the  session  are  busy  ones  at  the  Savery  Hotel, 
which  has  been  political  headquarters  for  years  —  where 
the  lobby  and  parlors  are  full  of  political  workers  whipping 
members  into  line  for  the  party  caucus.  The  appearance  of 
this  body  of  men  convinces  one  that  the  Iowa  House  may  be 
described  as  has  been  the  national  House :  *'An  aggregation 
of  vigorous  elements,  having  different  objects,  antagonistic 
notions,  and  selfish  interests,  centered  about  indefinite  party 
policies  and  moved  by  personal,  political,  and  sometimes 
patriotic  purposes.  "^^ 

A  bona  fide  caucus,  organized  for  the  purpose  of  selecting 
oflScers  for  the  two  houses  of  the  Legislative  Assembly, 
appeared  in  1841.^^  At  that  session  the  Democrats  held  a 
''midnight  caucus"  (which  adjourned  before  ten  o'clock) 
''for  the  purpose  of  agreeing  upon  candidates  to  be  sup- 
ported by  them  for  the  offices  of  either  house '  '.^^  Two  years 
later  the  Whigs  had  no  regular  candidate  and  it  was  left  to 
the  House  to  decide  who  should  be  Speaker.    The  election 

38  The  Des  Moines  Begister,  January  2,  1917;  Alexander's  History  and  Pro- 
cedure of  the  House  of  Bepresentatives,  p.  27. 

37  Just  when  the  plan  of  the  party  members  of  both  houses  meeting  in  one 
caucus  was  abandoned  for  the  present  method  of  the  members  of  each  House 
holding  their  own  caucus  is  not  certain;  but  the  latter  plan  has  been  followed 
for  some  time  —  at  least  since  1860. —  Daily  Iowa  State  Begister  (Des  Moines), 
January  10,  1860. 

S8  Iowa  Capitol  Beporter  (Iowa  City),  December  18,  1841.  Of  the  effective- 
ness of  this  first  party  caucus  a  recent  writer  says :  ' '  That  they  were  eminently 
successful  in  electing  their  slate  is  evident  from  the  stinging  condemnation  by 
the  Whigs ' '.  The  Democrats,  upon  being  criticised,  called  their  action  a  ' '  wise 
and  prudent  one ' '  and  claimed  that  ' '  the  custom  of  thus  meeting  and  agreeing 
upon  a  course  of  conduct,  is  one  which  prevails  in  nearly  if  not  quite  every 
State  in  the  Union;  and  with  'Whigs'  no  less  than  with  Democrats." — 
Statute  Law-making  in  Iowa  in  the  Iowa  Applied  History  Series,  Vol.  Ill,  p. 
32;  Iowa  Capitol  Beporter  (Iowa  City),  December  18,  1841. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  23 

turned  wholly  upon  local  principles.  But  from  that  time  to 
the  present,  the  party  caucus  has  been  a  regular  feature  of 
the  legislative  session.^® 

The  first  newspaper  publicity  of  the  party  caucus  for  the 
selection  of  legislative  officers  appeared  in  1860.  Up  to 
that  time  there  had  been  no  newspaper  accounts  of  the 
transactions  of  this  interesting  body.  Indeed,  although 
caucuses  were  regularly  held,  the  newspapers  gave  no  sub- 
stantial report  of  their  proceedings  until  1874.  During  the 
contest  of  that  year  rather  full  accounts  were  given  of  the 
daily  caucuses  which  were  held.''^  Since  1890  full  accounts 
of  the  party  caucus  have  been  given,  with  the  votes  on  the 
separate  ballots.  This  rule  has  been  violated  but  once, 
namely,  in  1900  when  *  *  newspaper  men  were  excluded  from 
the  caucus  for  the  first  time  in  Iowa  Republican  history"."** 

Candidates  for  the  speakership  announce  their  candidacy 
months  before  the  session  of  the  General  Assembly  opens. 
Indeed,  during  each  session  there  is  some  talk  of  who  wiU 
be  the  Speaker  at  the  next  session.  Sometimes  the  situa- 
tion is  fairly  well  settled  two  years  in  advance;  so  that 
occasionally  a  candidate  will  announce  himself  at  the  close 

S9  Iowa  Capitol  Beporter  (Iowa  City),  December  9,  1843. 

That  caucus  methods  were  rather  well  known  in  Iowa  at  an  early  date  is 
evidenced  by  the  fact  that  when  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
met  in  Iowa  City  in  January,  1846,  while  the  legislature  was  in  session  "the 
Masonic  members  of  the  legislature  held  a  caucus  and  made  up  what  in  later 
days  is  called  a  'Slate',  or  list  of  officers  and  elected  them  over  those  upon 
whom  the  choice  of  the  members  would  otherwise  have  fallen";  thereby  elect- 
ing their  own  Speaker  —  McCleary  —  Grand  Master. —  Morcombe's  History  of 
Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Vol.  I,  p.  260. 

40  There  was  agitation  at  this  time  for  a  joint  caucus  of  the  two  parties,  but 
nothing  came  of  it. —  Iowa  State  Weekly  Register  (Des  Moines),  January  23, 
1874. 

*i  Daily  Iowa  State  Begister  (Des  Moines),  January  10,  1860;  Muscatine 
Daily  Journal,  January  9,  1864;  Iowa  State  WeeTcly  Begister  (Des  Moines), 
January  15,  1868;  The  Iowa  State  Begister  (Weekly,  Des  Moines),  January  12, 
1900. 


24  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

of  a  session.  In  1907  it  was  known  that  Speaker  Kendall 
did  not  expect  to  return  in  1909,  and  so  toward  the  end  of 
the  session  there  was  considerable  discussion  of  who  would 
be  his  successor.  Several  names  were  considered  but  no 
candidacies  were  announced;  indeed  no  mention  was  made 
of  the  man  who  in  fact  became  Speaker  two  years  later.  At 
the  close  of  the  Thirty-third  General  Assembly  Representa- 
tive Klay  of  Sioux  County  '*  announced  his  candidacy  for 
the  speakership  of  the  Thirty-fourth  and  asked  for  the  sup- 
port of  his  friends."  Fremont  E.  Shortess  of  Traer  was  a 
candidate  for  Speaker  of  the  Thirty-seventh  General  As- 
sembly before  the  primary  election  of  June,  1916,  and  there 
■was  at  least  one  other  man  in  the  field  ahead  of  him.^^ 

The  candidates  usually  appear  in  Des  Moines  several 
weeks  before  the  opening  of  the  session  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  their  campaign.  Shortess  arrived  in  Des  Moines 
on  the  thirtieth  of  December,  1916,  and  was  closely  followed 
l)y  the  other  candidates.  Prior  to  1919  each  candidate 
iad  his  headquarters  in  the  Savery  Hotel.  In  1917 
Shortess,  Pitt,  Elwood,  and  Neff  each  occupied  one  or  two 
parlors  for  headquarters  at  the  Savery  during  the  week  of 
the  campaign.  Each  candidate  gathers  around  himself  the 
supporters  of  his  candidacy  and  the  fight  begins.  In  1917 
M.  B.  Pitt  had,  by  January  4th  ''his  pledged  backers  .  . 
.  .  industriously  engaged  in  adding  to  their  number  from 
the  straggling  arrivals."  Mr.  Pitt  also  "enlisted  the  ser- 
vices of  Almor  Stern,  a  political  worker  of  many  years 
experience  in  Harrison  county  and  a  fellow  townsman  of 
the  candidates,  and  E.  L.  Hogue  of  Monona  county  is  also 
initiating  the  new  members  to  the  Pitt  creed.  "^^     In  1919 

42  r/te  Register  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  April  1,  1907,  April  10,  1909; 
The  Des  Moines  Register,  January  1,  2,  1917. 

43  The  Des  Moines  Register,  January  1,  4,  1917. 

That  not  a  little  interest  is  taken  in  the  contest  in  the  caucus,  witness  the 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  25 

Judge  W.  S.  Withrow  of  Henry  County,  accompanied  by  a 
delegation  of  prominent  Henry  County  men,  was  in  Des 
Moines  during  campaign  week,  actively  working  in  behalf 
of  F.  S.  Finley  for  Speaker.  And  after  the  election.  Speaker 
McFarlane  credited  his  ''uncommonly  successful  cam- 
paign" largely  to  former  Congressman  Charles  E.  Pickett, 
of  Waterloo,  who  had  been  his  campaign  manager.  Pickett 
was  instrumental  in  the  election  of  "W.  I.  Atkinson  in  1915, 
also. 

Campaign  week  is  filled  with  political  activities.  Mem- 
bers cultivate  candidates  with  an  eye  to  future  places  on 
committees.  Frequently  the  candidates  have  offered  com- 
mittee chairmanships  in  exchange  for  support,  although 
sometimes  they  have  announced  that  no  such  promises 
would  be  made.  Stillman  denied  that  he  had  made  any 
pre-caucus  promises.  During  this  week  combinations 
among  candidates  are  sometimes  made.  The  weaker  can- 
didacies are  withdrawn,  leaving  but  one  or  two  candidates 
in  the  field.^* 

The  number  of  candidates  varies.  In  1909  eleven  mem- 
bers came  forward  as  candidates  —  Darrah,  Feely,  Hackler, 
Harding,  Larrabee,  Lee,  Meredith,  Marston,  Sullivan,  Still- 
man,  and  White  —  and  ten  of  them  received  votes  in  the 
caucus.  In  the  1917  caucus  only  four  men  received  votes  for 
Speaker  —  Pitt,  Elwood,  Shortess,  and  Neff.  Sometimes 
the  contest  is  between  only  two  or  three  members.    There 

following:  "The  speakership  campaign  has  proved  an  attraction  that  has 
•drawn  to  Des  Moines  within  the  last  few  days  many  former  Iowa  statesmen, 
several  editors,  and  many  politicians." — The  Begister  and  Leader  (Des 
Moines),  January  9,  1915. 

**The  Begister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  5,  1911.  In  the  caucus 
preliminaries  of  1894,  one  candidate  withdrew;  and  told  Stone  that  "he  did 
not  wish  to  ask  anything  for  himself,  but  made  a  strong  recommendation  for 
two  of  his  friends  who  had  stood  by  him". —  The  Iowa  State  Begister  (Daily, 
Des  Moines),  January  6,  1894. 


26  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

were  three  in  1915 ;  but  two  were  left  out  of  seven  in  1913 ; 
and  only  one  candidate  remained  in  the  Eepublican  caucus 
in  1919.  Sometimes  a  man  will  secure  promise  of  consider- 
able support  on  the  second  ballot ;  and  unless  a  selection  is 
made  on  the  first  ballot,  he  stands  a  good  chance  of  being 
chosen.  McFarlane  claimed  he  would  win  on  the  second 
ballot  in  1917,  but  Pitt  was  elected  on  the-  first.*^ 

The  Republican  caucus  is  customarily  held  on  the  Satur- 
day morning  preceding  the  opening  of  the  session  on  Mon- 
day. In  earlier  days  the  caucuses  of  both  parties  were  held 
following  the  adjournment  of  the  first  day's  session,  either 
in  the  afternoon  or  evening.  The  Democrats  still  hold  their 
caucus  on  Monday,  the  first  day  of  the  session,  but  in  the 
morning,  before  the  session  opens.  The  Eepublicans  de- 
parted from  the  custom  of  a  Monday  night  caucus  in  1896, 
when  it  was  held  on  the  Saturday  night  preceding  the  ses- 
sion, in  the  chambers  of  the  State  House.  In  1898  it  was 
proposed  to  have  the  meeting  on  Friday  night,  so  the  mem- 
bers could  go  home  over  Sunday.  '  *  The  customary  method 
of  settling  the  time  is  to  circulate  a  call  and  have  the  par- 
ticipants sign  it.  The  wishes  of  the  candidates  usually 
determine  the  time."  The  caucus  is  usually  held  in  the 
morning.  In  1915  it  met  in  the  Savery  Hotel  at  ten  A.  M. ; 
and  in  1917  the  meeting  opened  at  eleven  A.  M.  The  Savery 
Hotel  has  been  the  regular  meeting  place  for  the  cau- 
cus.^*^    In  1919  caucus  headquarters  were  changed  to  the 

45  The  Register  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  4,  10,  1909,  January  12, 
1913,  January  10,  1915;  The  Des  Moines  Register,  January  5,  7,  1917. 

46  Iowa  State  WeeUy  Register  (Des  Moines),  January  15,  1868;  The  Register 
and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  14,  1907,  January  11,  1913,  January  5,  9, 
1915;  The  Bes  Moines  Register,  January  6,  1917;  The  Iowa  State  Register 
(Weekly,  Des  Moines),  January  7,  1898.  In  1906  it  was  on  Saturday,  in  1907 
on  Friday,  and  in  1915  and  1917  on  Saturday. —  The  Register  and  Leader  (Des 
Moines),  January  12,  1907,  January  9,  1915;  The  Des  Moines  Register,  January 
6,  1917. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  27 

Chamberlain  Hotel,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Savery  was 
being  re-built. 

The  call  for  the  caucus  at  which  the  Speaker  is  elected  is 
the  official  means  by  which  the  body  is  assembled.  It  is 
circulated  among  the  members  by  some  person  prominent 
in  legislative  circles,  and  is  usually  signed  by  all  partici- 
pants.^^ The  following  "call",  used  in  the  Thirtieth  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  which  met  in  1904,  is  typical : 

The  members  of  the  house  of  representatives  will  meet  in  caucus 
at  the  club  room  of  the  Savery  hotel  on  Friday  afternoon,  January 
8,  1904,  at  2:30  o'clock,  for  the  purpose  of  nominating  candidates 
for  positions  to  be  filled  in  the  house  organization  and  for  the 
transaction  of  such  other  business  as  may  properly  be  considered.^ ^ 

In  1911  the  standpatters  refused  at  first  to  sign  the  call 
because  they  objected  to  the  inclusion  of  the  clause :  "and  to 
transact  any  other  business  that  may  come  before  [the]  cau- 
cus." They  especially  objected  to  the  naming  of  a  session 
caucus  committee  by  the  organization  caucus.  They  did  not 
want  the  question  of  organizing  the  House  tangled  with  the 
election  of  United  States  Senator.  Eather  than  agree  to  a 
senatorial  caucus,  it  was  said  that  they  would  bolt  the  party 
and  help  elect  a  Democratic  Speaker.  Indeed,  it  was  ru- 
mored that  the  Democrats  would  elect  a  standpat  Speaker 
in  return  for  a  committee  on  committees.  The  progressives 
yielded  on  the  point  of  naming  the  caucus  committee  for 
the  session.  In  1913  one  standpat  member  —  Mr.  Stipe  — 
refused  to  sign  the  call  because  of  the  same  alleged  objec- 
tionable feature,  but  later,  probably  on  the  advice  of  Gov- 
ernor Carroll,  he  signed  it.    In  1915  seventy-five  Republican 

^T  The  Eegisier  and  Leader  (r>es  Moines),  January  11,  1913,  January  5, 
1915.  In  1911  the  call  was  circulated  by  C.  E.  Benedict,  Chief  Clerk  of  the 
House  during  the  preceding  session. —  The  Register  and  Leader  (Des  Moines), 
January  7,  1911. 

^i  The  Eegister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  8,  1904.  It  was  under- 
stood that  this  applied  only  to  Eepublican  members. 


28  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

members  of  the  House  were  eligible  to  sit  in  the  caucus. 
Representative  Ball,  an  independent,  sought  participation 
in  the  caucus,  but  the  members  of  the  Atkinson  faction  were 
in  the  majority  and  kept  him  out.  It  was  known  that  he  was 
a  Barry  supporter.^^ 

The  arrangements  for  the  caucus  and  its  management 
are  usually  attended  to  by  the  Chief  Clerk  of  the  House  of 
the  preceding  session.  He,  at  the  direction  of  the  candi- 
dates for  Speaker,  chooses  some  member  to  act  as  chairman 
of  the  organization  caucus.  Thus  in  1915,  T.  F.  Griffin  of 
Woodbury  County,  was  *' selected  by  former  Chief  Clerk 
A.  C.  Gustafson,  at  the  direction  of  the  three  candidates 
involved,  as  chairman."  Griffin  served  again  in  1917  and 
1919.  His  own  vote  had  not  been  pledged  to  any  of  the  can- 
didates. In  1907  J.  H.  Lowrey  of  Calhoun  County  acted  as 
caucus  chairman.  In  1913,  H.  A.  Huff,  a  candidate  who  had 
withdrawn,  was  chairman.  He  had  refused  to  swing  his 
support  or  name  a  preference.  In  1909  the  only  third  term 
member  —  Representative  Welden  of  Hardin  County  — 
was  made  chairman.  Two  secretaries  are  chosen  from  the 
membership  of  the  caucus.^^ 

The  selection  of  a  candidate  for  Speaker  is  the  most  im- 
portant duty  of  the  House  caucus.  But  the  other  officers, 
the  Speaker  pro  tempore,  and  the  member  to  call  the  House 
to  order  at  the  opening  of  the  session  are  chosen  by  the 
same  body  —  although  it  is  understood  that  the  senior  mem- 
l)er  from  Polk  County  will  be  named  to  call  the  House  to 
order.  After  the  caucus  is  called  to  order  and  organized 
the  members  proceed  immediately  to  the  election  of  Speak- 

*o  The  Begister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  7,  8,  1911,  January  11, 
1913,  January  9,  10,  1915. 

so  The  Register  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  12,  1907,  January  10, 
1909,  January  11,  1913,  January  9,  1915;  The  Des  Moines  Register,  January  6, 
1917. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  29 

er.^^  Each  candidate  is  put  in  nomination  by  one  of  Ms 
friends  with  a  more  or  less  lengthy  nominating  speech. 
The  nomination  is  seconded  with  another  speech  from  some 
other  member.  Frequently  the  nomination  is  by  one  who 
had  been  prominently  mentioned  for  Speaker.  In  1919 
McFarlane  was  nominated  by  Finley.  Sometimes  the  nomi- 
nating speeches  are  dispensed  with.^^ 

Down  to  1900  the  prevailing  method  of  choosing  a  Speak- 
er in  the  Iowa  Republican  caucus  appears  to  have  been  by 
secret  ballot.  But  in  1900  the  Bowen  men  forced  an  open 
ballot,  the  members  responding  to  the  roll  call.  At  the  time 
there  was  bitter  criticism  of  the  methods  used  at  this  caucus. 
It  was  claimed  that  "  on  a  closed  ballot  the  members  would 
have  been  free  to  express  their  preference"  and  Eaton 
would  have  been  elected.^^  Since  that  occasion  it  has  been 
customary  to  use  ballots,  the  members  voting  as  the  roll  is 
called.^^  Indeed,  it  is  now  apparently  the  custom  for  pre- 
pared printed  ballots  to  be  used  as  they  were  in  1900  for 
the  officers  other  than  Speaker,  when  *'the  Bowen  men  had 
been  furnished  with  tickets  like  strings  of  street  car  tickets, 

51  In  1909  the  question  arose  as  to  which  Polk  County  member  should  open 
the  House  —  the  senior  member  in  years  or  in  House  service.  That  year  it  was 
the  senior  in  years.  The  practice  has  not  been  uniform. —  The  Register  and 
Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  4,  1909. 

52  The  Begister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  9,  1904,  January  8,  1911; 
The  Bes  Moines  Register,  January  7,  1917. 

63  It  was  asserted  by  a  capital  city  paper  that  "After  completing  the  'deals' 
for  the  speakership  the  doubtful  members  were  clubbed  into  signing  an  agree- 
ment to  vote  for  Mr.  Bowen,  but  the  managers  did  not  dare  to  trust  them 
after  they  had  signed  the  agreement,  therefore  the  signers  of  the  agreement, 
were  herded  in  a  committee  room  at  the  capitol  and  then  marched  into  the 
caucus  under  the  whip  and  spur  of  the  managers,  and  forced  to  deliver  their 
votes  as  the  roll  was  called!" — The  Iowa  State  Begister  (Weekly,  Des 
Moines),  January  12,  1900. 

64  The  Des  Moines  Begister,  January  7,  1917.  Tellers  are  appointed  from 
the  membership  of  the  caucus  to  supervise  the  balloting. —  The  Begister  and 
Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  10,  1915. 


30  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

and  were  tearing  them  off  one  by  one  and  dropping  them  in 
the  hat  as  it  passed  without  even  reading  the  names.  "^ 
In  1917  it  was  rumored  that  there  would  be  an  attempt  to 
have  an  open  ballot;  but  the  suggestion  was  opposed  by 
many  who  ''have  friendly  relations  with  both  candidates 
and  do  not  desire  to  commit  themselves  openly.  "^^ 

Sometimes  the  Speaker  is  named  on  the  very  first  ballot ; 
occasionally  it  takes  several  ballots  to  arrive  at  a  choice. 
In  1907  and  1911  the  leading  candidate  was  unanimously 
nominated.  Cunningham  won  on  the  first  ballot  in  1913  by 
securing  thirty-eight  votes  to  EUay's  twenty-four,  thirty- 
two  being  the  number  necessary  for  election.  Thirty-eight 
votes  —  just  barely  enough  —  secured  the  position  for 
Atkinson  in  1915  on  the  first  ballot  —  Barry  receiving 
twenty-seven  and  Brady  nine.  Pitt,  too,  in  1917  received  a 
bare  majority  on  the  first  ballot.  The  ninety-first  vote  cast 
gave  him  the  speakership  and  ''ended  one  of  the  sharpest 
fights  for  the  honor  which  has  ever  been  settled  by  a  single 
ballot. ' '  When  ninety  votes  had  been  read  off  by  the  tellers, 
Pitt  had  forty-seven,  Elwood  twenty-six,  Shortess  fourteen, 
and  Neff  three.  The  next  vote  gave  Pitt  the  victory  and 
was  greeted  with  cheers  from  the  caucus.  The  final  vote 
stood:  Pitt,  forty-eight;  Elwood,  twenty-eight;  Shortess, 
fifteen;  and  Neff,  three.  Elwood  and  Shortess  moved  that 
the  nomination  be  made  unanimous,  which  motion  pre- 
vailed. In  1919  McFarlane  was  the  only  candidate  left  in 
the  caucus  and  was  unanimously  elected  on  the  first  ballot.^'^ 

<is  The  Iowa  State  Begister  (Weekly,  Des  Moines),  January  12,  1900;  The 
Des  Moines  Register,  January  7,  1917.  In  1907  it  was  said  that  the  slate  was 
not  yet  dry  from  the  printing  press  when  it  was  distributed  among  the  Ee- 
publican  members. —  The  Register  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  12,  1907. 

56  The  JDes  Moines  Begister,  January  6,  1917. 

nT  The  Begister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),^  January  12,  1907,  January  8, 
1911,  January  12,  1913,  January  10,  1915;  The  Des  Moines  Begister,  January  7, 
1917. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  31 

The  custom  of  the  caucus  is  to  regard  all  ballots  as 
formal.  But  in  1909  and  1915  the  first  ballot  was  made  in- 
formal, and  in  1917  there  was  a  movement  to  have  one 
informal  ballot.  In  1915  the  informal  ballot  was  made 
formal  and  Atkinson  was  declared  elected;  but  in  1909  it 
took  an  informal  ballot  and  five  formal  ballots  to  elect  a 
Speaker.  The  summary  of  the  balloting  in  the  1909  caucus 
is  interesting: 


CANDroATES  Informal 

First 

Second 

THmo 

Fourth 

Fifth 

Feely 

9 

13 

15 

20 

28 

40 

StiUman 

6 

6 

8 

10 

13 

17 

Lee 

12 

15 

19 

17 

15 

10 

Harding 

19 

22 

21 

17 

13 

3 

Haekler 

5 

4 

3 

3 

3 

2 

White 

9 

8 

4 

5 

1 

Darrah 

5 

2 

2 

1 

Marston 

6 

3 

Sullivan 

1 

Larrabee 

1 

~72  73  72  73  73  73 

Marston  withdrew  after  the  first  formal  ballot;  Darrah 
withdrew  on  the  fifth;  when  the  Lee  men  began  to  go  for 
Stillman,  Harding  turned  to  Feely.  After  the  election, 
Harding  moved  that  the  nomination  be  unanimous;  Lee 
seconded  the  motion;  and  it  was  so  made.  In  1870  it  took 
seven  ballots  for  Cotton  to  beat  Russell  by  a  small  ma- 
jority.^^ 

When  it  is  ascertained  who  has  been  chosen  Speaker  by 
the  caucus,  a  committee  is  named  to  escort  the  successful 
candidate  to  the  platform.  He  makes  a  speech  of  accep- 
tance similar  to  the  one  he  makes  after  his  election  by  the 
House;  and  frequently  he  outlines  his  program  for  the 

58  The  Des  Moines  Register,  January  6,  1917;  The  Register  and  Leader  (Des 
Moines),  January  10,  1909,  January  10,  1915;  Iowa  State  Weekly  Register 
(Des  Moines),  January  12,  1870. 


32  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

session.  Usually  the  Speaker  pro  tempore  and  the  defeated 
candidates  also  make  speeches;  and  the  whole  affair  ends 
in  apparent  harmony.^^  The  good  natured  rivalry  among- 
candidates  in  1919  contrasts  vividly  with  the  graceless  fight 
in  1917. 

Of  late  years  the  Democrats  have  held  their  cancus  on 
Monday  morning  before  the  session  opens.  Here  their 
choice  of  a  member  to  run  for  the  speakership  is  made. 
Sometimes  they  select  a  man  to  whom  they  can  give  an 
honorary  vote.  In  1904  they  officially  endorsed  George  W. 
Clarke,  the  Eepublican  candidate.  When  informed  of  their 
action,  Clarke  thanked  them  and  said  he  ''appreciated  the 
honor"  and  that  ''his  appreciation  would  find  expression 
in  something  more  than  words  and  would  characterize  all 
his  actions  in  the  house  and  in  his  treatment  of  members. '  ^ 
In  recent  years  the  most  important  function  of  the  Demo- 
cratic caucus  has  been  the  election  of  a  minority  floor  leader. 
Representative  Rogers  held  this  position  in  the  Thirty- 
seventh  and  Thirty-eighth  General  Assemblies.*'^ 

V 
THE  FORMAL  ELECTION  OF  THE  SPEAKER 

Provision  is  made  in  the  Code  that  "The  members  re- 
ported by  the  committee  [on  Credentials]  as  holding  cer- 

59  The  Eegister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines) ,  January  7,  1906,  January  12, 
1907;  The  Des  Moines  Begister,  January  7,  1917. 

That  the  caucus  election  of  Speaker  does  not  breed  ill-feeling  is  evidenced 
by  the  following  newspaper  note: 

"Ed  Cunningham,  who  was  chosen  for  speaker  by  the  republican  caucus, 
Gerrit  Klay,  who  ran  next  to  him  in  the  caucus,  and  Herbert  A.  Huff,  who  was 
also  a  candidate  for  Speaker,  made  up  a  theatre  box  party  at  the  Berchel 
Saturday  night  for  'Gypsy  Love'." — The  Begister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines), 
January  13,  1913. 

^0  The  Begister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  10,  1904,  January  14, 
1907,  January  8,  1911,  January  11,  1913;  The  Des  Moines  Begister,  January  9, 
1917. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  33 

tificates  of  election  from  the  proper  authority  shall  proceed 
to  the  permanent  organization  of  their  respective  houses  by 
the  election  of  officers."  This  has  been  the  rule  of  law 
since  1851.  Formerly  this  formal  election  of  Speaker  in 
the  House  itself  occurred  on  the  second  day  of  the  session. 
This  custom  was  begun  in  the  organization  of  the  House  of 
the  First  Legislative  Assembly,  which  met  in  1838-1839. 
On  the  second  day  of  that  session  it  was  moved  to  proceed 
to  the  election  of  Speaker.  Tellers  were  appointed  and  a 
ballot  taken  —  apparently  without  the  formality  of  nomi- 
nations. The  first  ballot  resulted  in  eleven  votes  being  cast 
for  William  H.  Wallace,  four  for  John  Frierson,  two  for 
Thomas  Cox,  one  each  for  Andrew  Bankson  and  James  W. 
Grimes,  and  one  blank.  *'Mr.  Wallace,  having  received  a 
majority  of  the  whole  number  of  votes,  was  declared  to  be 
duly  elected  Speaker".  It  seems  to  have  been  an  estab- 
lished doctrine  that  legislative  assemblies  had  the  right  of 
selecting  their  own  presiding  officers  from  among  their  own 
members  without  the  approval  or  sanction  of  any  outside 
authority  whatsoever.  Apparently  they  accepted  the  rule 
of  general  parliamentary  law  that  a  majority  of  the  whole 
number  of  votes  cast  was  necessary  for  election.  In  recent 
years  —  at  least  since  1896  —  the  formal  election  of  Speak- 
er has  been  conducted  on  the  first  day  of  the  session.  At 
present  the  formal  election  of  Speaker  is  purely  perfunc- 
tory :  it  simply  confirms  the  caucus  election.®^ 

In  the  session  of  1839-1840  nominations  were  introduced. 
Hon.  S.  C.  Hastings  nominated  Edward  Johnstone,  and 
Loring  Wheeler  nominated  James  Churchman.  The  first 
ballot  resulted  in  the  election  of  Johnstone,  who  received 
seventeen  out  of  twenty-five  votes  cast.  Since  that  time 
nomination  speeches  have  been  common.     Seconds  have 

61  Code  of  1897,  Ch.  2,  Sec.  9;  House  Journal,  1838-1839,  pp.  14,  15,  1896, 
p.  7,  1917,  p.  6. 


34  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

also  frequently  been  made.  In  recent  years  nomination 
speeches  have  been  made  and  are  printed  in  the  House 
Journal.  Although  the  nominations  are  partisan,  the  first 
recognition  of  parties  in  the  House  Journal  occurred  dur- 
ing the  session  of  the  Twentieth  General  Assembly.  In 
that  session  men  were  placed  in  nomination  "on  behalf  of 
the  Republican  members"  and  "on  behalf  of  the  Demo- 
crats" of  the  House.  There  have  been  ordinarily  candi- 
dates of  but  two  parties  —  Democrat  and  Republican.  In 
1884  there  was  an  independent  candidate.  In  1886  three 
parties  —  Republican,  Democrat,  and  Greenback  —  had 
candidates  in  the  field.  In  1874  the  contest  was  between  the 
Republicans  and  the  Anti-Monopolists.  Reuben  Noble  was 
known  as  the  "Free  Soil  Speaker".  When  but  one  man  is 
nominated  it  is  customary  to  move  that  he  be  made  Speak- 
er; the  roll  is  then  called,  and  he  is  declared  unanimously 
elected.  The  fullest  advantage  was  taken  —  and  well  taken 
—  of  the  opportunity  offered  by  the  nomination  speech  in 
1919  when  the  name  of  Arch  W.  McFarlane  was  placed  be- 
fore the  House  of  the  Thirty-eighth  General  Assembly  by 
James  B.  Weaver.'^^ 

In  recent  years  the  Democrats  have  not  consistently  put 
candidates  in  nomination  for  the  speakership,  but  have 
frequently  supported  the  Republican  nominee.  In  the 
Thirty-first  General  Assembly,  George  W.  Koontz  (Demo- 
crat), of  Johnson  County,  moved  that  Clarke  be  the  unani- 
mous choice  for  Speaker.  In  1907  Koontz  seconded  the 
majority  nomination.  In  1915  when  Representative  Kane 
of  Dubuque  put  S.  H.  Bauman  of  Van  Buren  County  in 
nomination  for  Speaker  of  the  House,  he  preceded  the  nomi- 
nation with  the  following  remarks: 

^2  Mouse  Journal,  1839-1840,  p.  4,  1882,  p.  8,  1884,  p.  9,  1886,  p.  9,  1898, 
p.  7,  1900,  p.  4,  1917,  p.  7;  Iowa  State  Weekly  Begister  (Des  Moines),  January 
16,  1874;  The  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  Ill,  p.  195. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  35 

Mr.  Speaker  and  Members  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
—  We  of  the  minority,  in  presenting  a  candidate  for  the  speaker- 
ship, realize  the  fact  that  in  so  doing  we  have  no  opportunity  of 
securing  our  candidate  for  the  permanent  speaker  of  this  assembly. 
But  regardless  of  that  fact,  we  are  desirous  of  extending  an  honor 
to  one  of  our  members  who  has  served  for  four  sessions  as  a  member 
of  this  body  and  who  has  obtained  for  Ijimself  distinction  as  a  man 
of  ability  and  fairness  in  all  legislative  matters.  We  present  this 
candidate,  not  in  the  spirit  of  partisanship,  but  in  recognition  of 
his  past  accomplishments  as  an  Iowa  legislator.  I  have  the  honor 
of  presenting  to  this  assembly  the  minority  candidate  for  Speaker 
of  the  Thirty-sixth  General  Assembly,  the  Honorable  S.  H.  Bauman 
of  Van  Buren.^3 

Upon  the  roll  call,  Bauman  received  thirty  votes,  but  he 
immediately  moved  that  the  election  of  Atkinson  be  made 
unanimous.  In  1917  George  W.  Crozier  was  placed  in  nom- 
ination as  the  minority  candidate,  but  before  the  roll  was 
called,  he  moved  that  the  nomination  of  Pitt  be  made 
unanimous.  In  1919,  Representative  Eogers  moved  that  the 
nomination  of  McFarlane  be  made  unanimous,  stating  that 
the  minority  would  not  place  a  candidate  before  the  House.^* 

There  was  no  break  in  the  manner  of  the  election  to  the 
speakership  between  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  the  Terri- 
tory and  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State.  Indeed,  the 
Speaker  of  the  First  General  Assembly  was  elected  before 
Iowa  was  admitted  to  the  Union.  The  session  of  1846-1847 
convened  on  Monday,  November  30,  1846.  J.  B.  Browne 
was  elected  Speaker  on  the  second  day  of  the  session,  while 
the  State  was  not  formally  admitted  to  the  Union  until 
December  28,  1846.6^ 

A  viva  voce  election  was  held  in  the  extra  session  of  1848, 

0^  House  Journal,  1906,  p.  4,  1907,  p.  5,  1915,  pp.  7,  8. 

6i  House  Journal,  1915,  p.  8,  1917,  pp.  7,  8. 

65  House  Journal,  1846-1847,  p.  4;  Shambaugh's  Documentary  History  of 
Iowa,  Vol.  I,  pp.  185,  186. 


36  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

whereas  up  to  that  time  the  election  had  been  by  ballot. 
The  Journal  of  this  session  recorded  for  the  first  time  the 
vote  of  each  member,  the  names  having  been  called  in 
alphabetical  order.  Since  that  time  various  methods  have 
been  used  —  viva  voce  roll  call,  acclamation,  and  ballot.  At 
one  session  it  was  proposed  that  lottery  be  used  as  a  method 
of  selection.  The  Journal  of  the  House  of  1870  was  the 
first  to  show  the  vote  of  each  member  together  with  a  record 
of  the  absentees.  For  several  sessions  this  record  has  been 
included  when  a  roll  call  forms  part  of  the  election  pro- 
cedure, as  has  happened  in  every  session  since  1880,  except 
those  of  1917  and  1919.  In  the  Twenty-sixth  General  As- 
sembly the  Speaker  was  elected  by  acclamation,  but  '^To 
complete  the  record  the  chair  ordered  a  roll  call  on  the  elec- 
tion of  Speaker."  The  House  of  1917  failed  to  thus 
complete  the  record.  There  have  been  many  so-called 
''unanimous"  elections,  but  probably  Jacob  Butler,  Speak- 
er of  the  Tenth  General  Assembly,  and  Willard  L.  Eaton, 
Speaker  of  the  Twenty-ninth  General  Assembly,  stand  high- 
est as  regards  the  unanimity  of  the  vote  accorded  them.  In 
the  Tenth  General  Assembly  the  Committee  on  Credentials 
reported  eighty  members  as  entitled  to  seats  in  the  House ; 
eighty  votes  were  cast  in  the  election  of  Speaker,  and  Jacob 
Butler  received  all  of  them.  In  1902  Willard  L.  Eaton  re- 
ceived every  vote  in  the  House  except  his  own.  M.  B.  Pitt 
was  unanimously  elected  in  1917,  as  was  Arch  W.  McFar- 
lane  in  1919.«« 

As  at  present  conducted,  the  election  of  Speaker  in  the 
House  is  purely  a  form.  The  procedure  is  carefully  mapped 
out  before  the  session  opens.     In  1917  ''Ramsay   [Chief 

e<i  House  Journal,  1840  (Extra  Session),  p.  6,  1852-1853,  p.  6,  1856  (Extra 
Session),  p.  6,  1856-1857,  p.  7,  1860,  p.  6,  1862,  p.  7,  1864,  pp.  4-6,  1870,  pp. 
6,  7,  1876,  p.  8,  1878,  p.  7,  1880,  p.  7,  1896,  p.  7,  1902,  p.  4,  1917,  p.  8;  Iowa 
State  WeeTcly  Register  (Des  Moines),  January  23,  1874. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  37 

Clerk]  had  typewritten  slips  prepared  in  advance  of  the 
morning  session  of  the  house,  bearing  every  motion  neces- 
sary to  keep  the  wheels  moving  smoothly. 

* '  The  whole  affair  went  off  like  clockwork.  Each  member 
had  his  '  cue '  when  to  break  into  the  game  and  no  time  was 
lost."" 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  conduct  of  the  candidates  in 
these  elections.  It  was  decided  in  the  extra  session  of  the 
First  General  Assembly  of  the  State  that  the  candidates 
for  Speaker  might  be  excused  from  voting  if  they  so  de- 
sired. The  successful  candidate  won  by  taking  advantage 
of  this  exemption ;  but  the  Speaker  of  the  Fifth  Legislative 
Assembly  was  probably  elected  by  the  vote  of  the  candidate 
himself.  For  a  number  of  years  it  was  customary  for  the 
two  candidates  to  exchange  complimentary  votes.  But  in 
1886,  Head,  the  Republican  candidate,  did  not  vote,  al- 
though he  received  the  vote  of  one  of  his  opponents.  In 
1888  neither  candidate  voted.  In  the  contest  of  1890  Wilson 
voted  for  Hamilton  but  Hamilton  is  recorded  as  ''not 
voting".  In  1892,  1894,  and  1915  neither  candidate  voted. 
Between  1894  and  1915  there  was  usually  but  one  candidate, 
who,  of  course,  did  not  vote  for  himself.  In  1909  and  1913, 
however,  Miller,  the  Democratic  candidate,  gave  his  vote 
both  times  to  his  opponent:  both  times  his  opponent  was 
recorded  as  ''absent  or  not  voting".  In  1913  and  1915  the 
successful  candidate  explained  that  had  he  been  present  he 
would  have  voted  for  his  opponent.*'^ 

Very  few  men  have  had  the  honor  of  being  elected  at 
more  than  one  regular  session  as  Speaker  of  the  Iowa 
House.    James  Morgan  was  Speaker  in  the  Fifth  Legisla- 

67  The  Des  Moines  Segister,  January  9,  1917. 

6sEouse  Journal,  1848  (Extra  Session),  pp.  7,  8,  1870,  pp.  6,  7,  1872,  p.  6, 
1874,  p.  48,  1884,  p.  10,  1886,  p.  9,  1888,  p.  12,  1890,  p.  83,  1892,  p.  8,  1894, 
p.  7,  1909,  pp.  7,  8,  1913,  pp.  8,  9,  12,  1915,  pp.  8,  17. 


38  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

tive  Assembly  and  again  in  the  Seventh.  He  was  talked  of 
for  Speaker  of  the  Eighth  Legislative  Assembly,  but,  being 
an  advocate  of  rotation  in  office,  he  ''voluntarily  declined 
being  a  candidate  for  re-election."  John  Eussell  was  a 
candidate  for  a  second  term,  but  was  unsuccessful.  John 
H.  Gear  furnishes  the  second  instance  of  a  two-term  Speak- 
er. He  served  in  that  capacity  in  the  Fifteenth  and  Six- 
teenth General  Assemblies.  The  only  other  man  to  hold 
this  distinction  is  George  W.  Clarke,  of  Dallas  County, 
Speaker  in  the  Thirtieth  and  Thirty-first  General  Assem- 
blies. Jesse  B.  Browne,  Speaker  of  the  House  in  the  First 
General  Assembly,  had  been  President  of  the  Council  in  the 
First  Legislative  Assembly.^^ 

VI 

EXTRA  SESSION  SPEAKERS 

At  the  first  extra  session  of  the  Territorial  Assembly  the 
question  arose  as  to  whether  or  not  the  Speaker  of  the  reg- 
ular session  held  over.  The  question  was  decided  in  the 
negative  and  a  new  election  was  held.  There  was,  however, 
but  one  nomination,  and  Edward  Johnstone,  Speaker  at  the 
regular  session,  received  thirteen  out  of  twenty-five  votes 
on  the  third  ballot  and  was  declared  elected.  The  second 
extra  session  of  the  Territorial  legislature  convened  at 
Iowa  City  on  June  17,  1844.  James  P.  Carleton,  Speaker 
during  the  regular  session,  was  not  elected ;  but  instead,  the 
House  proceeded  to  choose  a  new  Speaker,'^*^   and  John 

69 Iowa  Capitol  Seporter  (Iowa  City),  December  10,  1845;  House  Journal, 
1870,  p.  6;  Iowa  State  WeeTcly  Register  (Des  Moines),  January  12,  1870. 

^0  Bouse  Journal,  1840  (Extra  Session),  p.  4;  Iowa  City  Standard,  June  20, 
1844.  Foley  was  described  as  "a  polite  Irish  gentleman,  [who]  had  been 
sheriff  of  Jo  Daviess  county,  HI.,  and  a  member  of  the  First  Legislative  As- 
sembly of  Wisconsin  Territory". —  The  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol. 
VII,  p.  600. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  39 

Foley  of  Belle^Tie  was  the  man  elected  to  serve  for  the 
three-day  session. 

At  the  first  extra  session  in  the  State  period,  held  in  1848, 
Jesse  B.  Browne,  Speaker  during  the  regular  session,  was 
reelected.  The  vote  was  viva  voce  and  the  second  roll  call 
gave  him  the  victory  on  a  parliamentary  technicality.  The 
precedent  of  electing  the  presiding  officer  of  the  regular 
session  to  serve  as  Speaker  at  the  extra  session  was  fol- 
lowed in  1856.  Reuben  Noble  was  then  elected  by  accla- 
mation.'^^ 

In  1858  the  General  Assembly  enacted  a  law  declaring 
that  "The  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  shall 
hold  his  office,  until  the  first  day  of  the  meeting  of  a  regular 
session  of  the  General  Assembly  next,  after  that  at  which 
he  was  elected."  This  provision  is  still  in  force.'^^  Conse- 
quently at  all  of  the  extra  sessions  since  1856  and  at  the 
adjourned  session  of  1873  the  Speaker  of  the  preceding 
regular  session  has  taken  the  chair  as  a  matter  of  course. 
In  the  extra  session  of  1861,  however,  John  Edwards,  upon 
calling  the  House  to  order,  declared  that  in  the  hour  of 
national  crisis  party  spirit  and  strife  should  be  quelled,  and 
addressed  the  House  as  follows:  **I,  therefore,  in  view  of 
the  foregoing  sentiment  expressed,  having  been  elected  to 
the  position  I  now  occupy  as  your  presiding  officer  by  the 
dominant  party  on  this  floor,  in  justice  to  the  minority,  I 
am  now  willing  to  resign  my  position  into  the  hands  of  any 
other  member  of  this  body,  if  it  should  be  your  wish  to  do 

11  House  Journal,  1848  (Extra  Session),  pp.  7,  8,  1856  (Extra  Session),  p.  6. 

12  Laws  of  Iowa,  1858,  Ch.  126,  Sec.  5,  pp.  248,  249;  Code  of  1897,  Sec.  17. 
In  introducing  this  section  to  the  House  as  a  part  of  the  Bevision  of  1860 

the  Codifying  CJommittee  explained  their  action  thus:  "By  reference  to  the 
Journal  of  the  Extra  Session  of  1856,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  House  decided  to 
elect  a  Speaker,  as  well  as  other  officers,  and  it  is  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding 
the  force  of  that  precedent,  that  the  provision  is  proposed." — House  Journal, 
1858,  p.  477. 


40  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

so."    The  Journal  records  that  ''The  House  unanimously 

declared    that    Mr.    Edwards    remain    in    the    Speaker's 
Chair.  "73 

VII 

CONTESTS  IN  THE  FORMAL  ELECTION  OF  THE 
SPEAKER 

There  have  been  but  two  elections  of  Speaker  in  Iowa 
which  have  been  seriously  contested  during  the  legislative 
session  itself:  those  of  the  Fifteenth  General  Assembly  in 
1874  and  the  Twenty-third  General  Assembly  in  1890. 
Minor  contests  occurred  in  the  sessions  of  the  Fifth  and 
Sixth  Legislative  Assemblies  and  in  the  extra  session  of 
the  First  General  Assembly.  They  deserve,  perhaps,  more 
than  passing  mention. 

The  election  of  James  M.  Morgan  of  Burlington  as  pre- 
siding officer  of  the  Fifth  Legislative  Assembly  was  purely 
a  partisan  election.  General  Morgan,  who  was  a  Democrat, 
was  not  in  attendance  on  the  first  day  of  the  session.  The 
House  was  almost  evenly  divided:  there  were  fourteen 
Democrats  and  twelve  Whigs;  with  two  of  the  Democrats 
listed  as  conservatives  and  more  or  less  uncertain.  The 
Democrats  on  the  first  day  successfully  resisted  all  attempts 
to  proceed  to  the  election  of  a  Speaker,  and  after  several 
attempts  succeeded  in  forcing  adjournment  until  the  follow- 
ing day,  when  Morgan  was  present. 

On  the  second  day  of  the  session  the  Whigs  offered  a  reso- 
lution declaring  that  "it  is  the  duty  of  this  House  to  select 
its  officers  equally  from  each  of  the  great  political  parties  of 
this  Territory."  Seventeen  votes  were  recorded  in  favor 
of  this  resolution,  nine  Democrats,  including  Morgan,  op- 
posing it.    A  committee  of  one  from  each  electoral  district 

Ts  House  Journal,  1861    (Extra  Session),  p.  4,   1873    (Adjourned  Session), 
p.  3,  1897  (Extra  Session),  p.  1,  1908  (Extra  Session),  p.  1. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  41 

was  appointed  to  make  an  apportionment  of  the  officers 
according  to  representation.  The  committee  —  consisting 
of  five  Democrats  and  five  Whigs  —  recommended  that  ''the 
House  elect  a  Democratic  Speaker,  a  Wliig  Clerk,  and  a 
Democratic  Sergeant-at-Arms. "  This  report  was  adopted 
by  a  vote  of  fifteen  to  eleven,  with  all  of  the  five  Whig  com- 
mitteemen favoring  it,  and  four  of  the  Democratic  com- 
mitteemen opposing  it.  In  the  election  James  M.  Morgan 
was  the  only  nominee,  but  the  result  of  the  first  ballot 
showed  thirteen  votes  for  Henry  Felkner,  the  Democratic 
member  from  Johnson  County,  twelve  for  Morgan,  and  one 
blank.  The  second  ballot  resulted  in  thirteen  for  Morgan 
and  thirteen  scattering.  On  the  third  ballot  Morgan  re- 
ceived fourteen  votes,  a  bare  majority,  and  was  declared 
elected."^* 

It  took  three  ballots  to  elect  James  P.  Carleton,  Speaker 
of  the  Sixth  Legislative  Assembly.  On  the  third  successive 
ballot  he  received  thirteen  out  of  the  twenty-five  votes  cast. 
There  were  nineteen  Democratic  members  in  the  House. 
Thomas  Eogers,  another  Democrat,  received  eight  votes  on 
the  final  ballot."^^ 

An  interesting  situation  arose  in  connection  with  the 
election  of  Speaker  in  the  extra  session  of  1848.  Kobert 
Smyth  and  Jesse  B.  Browne  were  the  leading  candidates. 
On  the  first  ballot  there  were  nineteen  votes  for  Browne, 
seventeen  for  Smyth,  Smyth's  one  vote  for  Bonham,  and 
Browne's  blank  vote.    Browne  secured  jnst  one-half  of  the 

T*^  House  Journal,  1842-1843,  pp.  3-8.  The  Democratic  paper  of  Iowa  City 
made  the  charge  against  the  Whigs  that  after  "certain  of  that  same  party 
had  proposed  a  like  division  between  the  parties,  of  the  officers  of  the  legis- 
lature, which  proposal  was  concurred  in,  this  same  party  to  a  man,  on  the  two 
first  ballots  for  Speaker,  (which  office  had  been  allotted  to  their  opponents) 
voted  against  the  candidate  of  the  democratic  party,  and  did  their  very  best  to 
defeat  his  election." — Iowa  Capitol  Beporter  (Iowa  City),  December  17,  1842. 

75  House  Journal,  1843-1844,  p.  5. 


42  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

votes  cast.  On  the  second  ballot  Mr.  Browne  did  not  vote, 
and  it  was  moved  that  he  be  excused  from  voting.  Other- 
wise the  vote  was  the  same.  But  if  Mr.  Browne  should  be 
excused  from  voting  the  ballot  would  mean  his  election.  A 
point  of  order  was  raised  on  the  motion  to  excuse;  the 
Speaker  decided  that  the  motion  was  in  order;  and  an  ap- 
peal was  taken,  which  was  not  sustained.  On  an  Aye  and 
No  vote,  Mr.  Browne  was  excused  from  voting,  twenty- 
eight  to  nine.  He  was  accordingly  declared  elected 
Speaker.*^^ 

The  first  really  extended  contest  for  the  office  of  Speaker 
occurred  in  the  Fifteenth  General  Assembly.  The  House 
was  divided  between  the  Eepublicans  and  the  Anti-Monop- 
olists, with  five  independent  Eepublicans  holding  the  bal- 
ance of  power.  Three  of  the  independents  joined  with  the 
Eepublicans,  and  two  with  the  Anti-Monopolists,  splitting 
the  House  evenly.  The  candidates  were  John  H.  Gear  of 
Des  Moines  County,  and  J.  W.  Dixon  of  Wapello  County. 
Twenty-two  roll  calls  were  held  on  the  second  day  of  the 
session  for  the  election  of  Speaker,  the  result  of  each  ballot 
being  a  deadlock  —  fifty  votes  for  Gear  and  fifty  for  Dixon. 
The  Journal  during  the  contest  affords  an  excellent  example 
of  obstructive  parliamentary  measures.  The  balloting  con- 
tinued for  ten  days,  and  the  total  number  of  ballots  cast 
was  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven.  Both  parties  held  daily 
caucuses.  Various  proposals  were  made.  It  was  suggested 
that  the  House  go  into  conference;  that  the  members  bear 
the  expense  of  the  contest ;  that  voting  should  be  continuous 
without  intermission  or  adjournment  until  election  result- 
ed ;  that  the  two  parties  hold  a  joint  caucus ;  that  the  contest 

76  Blouse  Journal,  1848,  pp.  7,  8.  This  precedent  was  followed  in  the  election 
of  the  Second  General  Assembly.  Smiley  H.  Bonham,  of  Johnson  County,  who 
was  elected  on  the  first  ballot  by  twenty-five  out  of  thirty-five  votes,  was  ex- 
cused from  voting. —  Bouse  Journal,  1848-1849,  p.  6. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  43 

be  decided  by  lot;  and  that  a  joint  "Court  of  Conference" 
of  ten  men  settle  the  question  by  compromise.  This  last 
suggestion  was  adopted  and  the  compromise  reached  by  this 
''Court  of  Conference"  was  agreed  to  on  Thursday  night, 
January  22nd;  and  on  Friday  morning,  Mr.  Gear  was 
elected  Speaker,  receiving  seventy-nine  out  of  the  eighty- 
seven  votes  cast.  The  Eepublicans  paid  dearly  for  the 
speakership,  however,  for  the  Anti-Monopolists  secured  all 
the  minor  offices,  equal  representation  on  all  standing  com- 
mittees, and  majorities  of  investigating  committees  includ- 
ing the  chairmanships.  "Politically  speaking,  the  Repub- 
lican 'victory'  was  no  victory  at  all".  The  charges  of 
corruption  in  this  election  were  many  and  open.'^'^ 

The  last  serious  contest  within  the  House  itself  for  the 
speakership  occurred  in  1890.  John  T.  Hamilton  of  Linn 
County  was  the  candidate  of  the  Democrats  and  Silas 
Wilson  of  Cass  County  the  candidate  of  the  Republicans. 
The  first  two  weeks  of  the  session  were  spent  in  electing  a 
temporary  Chief  Clerk  —  he  was  finally  elected  on  the 
ninety-second  ballot  —  and  in  perfecting  the  temporary 
organization  of  the  House.  Then  the  balloting  for  Speaker 
began,  resulting  in  a  deadlock.  It  took  twenty-three  days 
—  from  January  28th  to  February  19th  —  and  one  hundred 
and  thirty-seven  ballots  to  elect  John  T.  Hamilton.  Finally 
a  resolution,  which  had  been  agreed  upon  by  the  caucuses 
of  the  two  parties,  was  offered  and  adopted;  thus  settling 
the  matter.  This  resolution  contained  a  compromise  list  of 
officers.  The  Democrats  secured  the  Speaker,  along  with 
the  Second  Assistant  Clerk.  The  Republicans  elected  the 
Speaker  pro  tempore  and  most  of  the  minor  officers.  The 
committees  were  divided  between  the  parties.  This  ended 
the  contest  and  on  February  19th  John  T.  Hamilton  took  the 

ff  House  Journal,  1874,  pp.  8-48;  Iowa  State  WeeTcly  Begister  (Des  Moines), 
January  16,  23,  1874;  Burlington  WeeTcly  Hawk-Bye,  January  29,  1874. 


44  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

chair,  having  received  ninety-three  votes  —  all  that  were 
cast.  The  result  was  undoubtedly  a  victory  for  the  Demo- 
cratic partyJ^ 

VIII 
THE  INSTALLATION  OF  THE  SPEAKER 

Comparative  uniformity  has  characterized  the  installa- 
tion of  the  Speaker  in  the  Iowa  House  of  Representatives 
from  the  time  of  the  First  Legislative  Assembly  of  the  Ter- 
ritory down  to  the  present  time.  Indeed,  the  formal  exer- 
cises on  this  occasion  as  recorded  in  the  House  Journals  of 
1838-1839  and  1919  are  remarkably  similar. 

Immediately  following  the  election  of  Speaker  it  is  cus- 
tomary for  some  member  to  move  that  a  committee  be 
appointed  to  escort  him  to  the  chair.  The  chairman  usually 
appoints  two,  sometimes  three,  members  to  perform  this 
service.  They  are  very  often  men  who  have  been  candidates 
against  the  Speaker-elect  in  his  own  party  or  defeated 
candidates  of  the  opposing  party.  In  the  Thirty-seventh 
General  Assembly,  Speaker  Pitt  was  escorted  to  the  chair 
by  Shortess  of  Tama,  one  of  his  competitors,  and  Rogers  of 
Carroll,  the  minority  leader.  This  is  the  usual  custom  in 
the  national  House,  but  the  precedent  was  not  followed  in 
the  Thirty-eighth  General  Assembly  of  Iowa.  Before  taking 
the  chair  the  Speaker  is  required  to  take  the  oath  of  office. 
This  oath,  administered  by  the  organization  Speaker,  reads 
about  as  follows:  **You  do  solemnly  swear  that  you  will 
support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the 
State  of  Iowa,  and  will  discharge  the  duties  of  Speaker  of 

"TS  House  Journal,  1890,  pp.  1-83;  The  Des  Moines  Leader  (Weekly),  Febru- 
ary 27,  1890.  This  is  the  only  time  throughout  the  history  of  the  Iowa  legis- 
lature that  paired  votes  existed  on  the  election  of  Speaker.  They  were  com- 
mon in  this  contest,  four  members  being  paired  on  the  final  ballot. —  House 
Journal,  1890,  p.  83. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  45 

the  House  of  Representatives  to  the  best  of  your  ability.  ""^^ 
Upon  taking  the  chair,  the  newly  elected  Speaker  makes 
a  speech  of  acceptance,  in  which  he  customarily  thanks  the 
members  for  the  honor  conferred  upon  him,  asserts  his  own 
unworthiness,  and  asks  for  the  cooperation  of  all.  Some- 
times he  briefly  outlines  in  a  general  way  what  the  session 
should  accomplish.  These  speeches  of  acceptance  are  al- 
ways short,  but  some  of  them  have  been  especially  notice- 
able for  their  brevity.  In  the  Twenty- seventh  General 
Assembly  "Speaker  Funk's  speech  on  assuming  the  chair 
.  .  .  .  was  brief  ....  but  it  was  long  enough  for 
him  to  announce  that  ....  he  will  serve  the  same 
ends  of  reform  and  economy"  which  he  served  as  a  member 
on  the  floor.  The  length  of  the  speech  is  no  criterion  of  the 
success  of  the  Speaker,  for  it  was  said  of  Ed  Wright  that 
''though  the  eloquence  of  his  accepting  speech  was  con- 
densed into  five  short  sentences,  he  was  easily  voted,  before 
the  end  of  the  session,  the  best  Speaker  Iowa  ever  had." 
When  James  M.  Morgan  was  elected  to  the  speakership  in 
the  Fifth  Legislative  Assembly,  the  organ  of  the  opposing 
party  asserted  that  ''he  addressed  the  House  in  a  few  em- 
barrassed remarks,  which  are  not  worth  publishing."  In 
reply  the  paper  of  his  own  party  said :  ' '  That  the  Speaker 
elect,  was  somewhat  embarrassed  upon  taking  the  chair,  no 
one  will  doubt;  and  [but]  that  the  remarks  which  he  made 
upon  the  occasion  were  clear,  terse,  and  appropriate,  we 
believe  every  member  of  the  House  will  concede.  "^*^ 

79  House  Journal,  1884,  p.  10,  1917,  p.  8;  Follett's  The  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Bepresentatives,  p.  43.  A  "ripple  of  merriment  swept  over  the  house"  in 
1915  as  "Big  Bill"  Atkinson  was  conducted  to  the  chair  by  two  men  "whose 
combined  bulk  would  about  equal  that  of  the  new  speaker. ' ' —  The  Eegister  and 
Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  12,  1915. 

so  House  Journal,  1838-1839,  p.  15,  1884,  p.  10,  1917,  p.  8;  loua  City  Stand- 
ard, December  8,  1842;  loiva  Capitol  Reporter  (Iowa  City),  December  10, 
1842;    The  Iowa   State  Eegister   (Weekly,  Des  Moines),   January   14,    1898; 


46  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

Occasionally  the  installation  is  marked  by  some  unusual 
feature.  Following  the  sharp  contest  of  1890,  Speaker 
Hamilton,  upon  assuming  the  chair,  was  presented  with  a 
gavel  by  Silas  Wilson.  In  the  Fourteenth  General  Assem- 
bly there  occurred  a  scene  during  the  installation  of  the 
Speaker  such  as  never  before  nor  since  has  been  witnessed 
in  the  House.  ''Tama  Jim"  Wilson,  the  Eepublican  candi- 
date, won  after  a  spirited  campaign.  ' '  One  of  the  members 
was  Ed  Campbell  of  Fairfield,  a  rock  ribbed  democrat,  of 
genial,  humorous,  ironic  temperament  ....  It  was 
his  habit,  when  the  democrats  and  republicans  locked  horns, 
or  members  got  tangled  up  in  debate,  to  rise  with  great 
gravity  and  say,  'Mr.  Speaker,  in  the  interest  of  peace  and 
harmony,  I  move — '  and  follow  with  some  ironical  sugges- 
tion foreign  to  the  subject.  On  this  occasion,  as  soon  as 
Wilson  had  taken  his  seat,  a  colored  waiter  from  the  old 
Savery  house,  was  seen  passing  down  the  aisle  bearing  a 
tray  on  which  was  a  bottle  of  wine  and  a  glass  goblet.  He 
halted  at  Ed's  desk,  whereupon  Ed  very  deliberately  filled 
the  goblet  with  wine,  and  after  a  very  short,  fulsome  greet- 
ing speech,  drank  a  toast  to  the  speaker  on  his  success,  the 
other  members  sitting  back  in  perfect  astonishment."^^ 

After  the  Speaker  has  been  installed  and  the  permanent 
officers  elected,  the  Speaker  pro  tempore  usually  relieves 
the  Speaker  of  the  chair  for  the  remainder  of  the  morning 
session.^2 

Pioneer  Lawmakers'  Association  of  Iowa,  Proceedings,  1894,  p.  65.  Appar- 
ently, following  the  contest  of  1890,  Speaker  Hamilton  made  no  speech  of 
acceptance.  It  is  not  mentioned  in  the  House  Journal. —  Souse  Journal,  1890, 
p.  83. 

6^  House  Journal,   1890,   p.    83;    The  Begister  and   Leader    (Des   Moines), 
February  17,  1907. 

82  House  Journal,  1917,  p.  11. 


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52  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

IX 

THE   SPEAKER:  A  PARLIAMENTARY   OFFICER 

The  Speaker  of  the  Iowa  House  of  Representatives  has  a 
two-fold  position.  He  is  a  parliamentary  officer  and  a  polit- 
ical leader.  His  powers  as  a  moderator  are  closely  inter- 
related with  his  opportunities  as  a  party  man.  Sometimes 
parliamentary  prerogatives  are  converted  into  political  op- 
portunities. The  position  of  the  Speaker  as  the  selected 
leader  of  his  party  is  one  in  which  he  is  expected  to  advance 
political  interests.  But  there  are  certain  functions  which 
are  purely  parliamentary,  and  their  correct  execution  is 
fully  as  much  an  index  to  the  success  of  a  Speaker  as  is  the 
the  enactment  of  the  legislative  program  of  his  party. 

While  the  Speaker  is  as  a  rule  conceded  to  be  the  leader 
of  his  party  and  while  it  is  rather  expected  that  he  will 
serve  party  interests  whenever  possible,  not  all  Speakers 
consider  it  proper  to  use  their  position  to  benefit  their 
party.  Early  Speakers  were  often  interested  in  certain 
bills,  some  of  which  were  party  measures,  and  worked  for 
their  passage.  Recent  Speakers,  too,  have  sometimes  been 
zealous  in  the  use  of  their  official  position  to  serve  party  or 
factional  ends.  But  there  have  been  Speakers  who  consid- 
ered the  position  as  merely  that  of  a  moderator.  George 
W.  Clarke,  one  of  the  ablest  Speakers  who  ever  presided 
over  the  Iowa  House,  took  that  attitude.  He  openly  de- 
clared that  he  w^as  a  moderator  only.  In  his  speech  before 
the  caucus  he  said:  ''I  have  observed  in  some  states  what 
seemed  to  me  to  be  an  effort  on  the  part  of  speakers  to  con- 
trol by  the  influence  from  the  speaker's  office  legislation  on 
matters  coming  before  the  assembly.  That  is  not  my  con- 
ception of  the  province  of  the  office.  It  is  rather  the  busi- 
ness of  the  speaker  to  facilitate  the  transaction  of  business 
as  it  comes  before  the  body,  impartially".    Guy  A.  Feely, 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  53 

Speaker  of  the  Thirty-third  General  Assembly,  was  of  the 
opinion  that  he  should  not  influence  legislation  at  all.  He 
did,  however,  indicate  what  he  considered  to  be  the  two 
most  important  bills  before  the  session.  Paul  E.  Stillman 
in  1911  was  more  of  a  moderator  than  a  political  Speaker. 
He  was  said  to  possess  ''the  happy  combination  of  a  force- 
ful and  impartial  moderator. ' '  The  Speaker  of  the  Thirty- 
seventh  General  Assembly  was  very  active  as  a  political 
leader  and  energetic  in  pushing  through  legislation  which 
he  and  his  faction  desired  to  have  enacted ;  and  yet,  follow- 
ing the  big  debate  of  the  session  —  on  the  Johnston  road 
bill  —  it  was  claimed  that  the  Speaker  had  been  fair  and 
impartial  in  his  conduct  of  the  debate.^^  McFarlane,  upon 
assuming  the  chair  in  1919,  assured  the  House  that  he  would 
preside  only,  and  not  use  his  position  to  influence  legis- 
lation. 

The  Speaker  is  the  mouthpiece  and  representative  of  the 
House.  AVhen  the  House  desires  to  act  as  a  whole  it  is 
represented  by  its  presiding  officer.  He  receives  all  com- 
munications addressed  to  the  House  and  lays  them  before 
the  House ;  he  receives  and  announces  messages  and  reports 

63  Iowa  Capitol  Beporter  (Iowa  City),  June  7,  1845;  The  Begister  and 
Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  7,  1906,  February  2,  1909,  January  10,  1911. 

"Both  sides  alternated  in  speaking,  Pitt  recognizing  first  one  of  the  admin- 
istration men,  and  then  an  opposition  orator."  But  in  the  recognition  of 
speakers,  Mr.  Pitt  undoubtedly  exercised  partisan  influence. —  The  Des  Moines 
Begister,  March  10,  1917. 

"There  was  no  criticism  offered  by  the  Elwood  men  against  any  of  the 
important  rulings  of  the  chair,  and  the  speaker  avoided  anything  that  re- 
sembled steam  roller  tactics." — The  Des  Moines  Begister,  March  11,  1917. 

Contrary  to  this  was  the  allegation  made  against  an  early  Speaker:  "Mr. 
Speaker's  logic  don't  work  both  ways;  he  decided  it  to  be  in  order  to  strike 
out  the  name  of  a  whig  and  place  in  that  of  a  loco  f oco  —  but  thought  it 
against  the  rules  to  amend  a  motion  so  as  to  strike  out  the  name  of  a  loco  foco 
and  place  in  that  of  a  whig";  and  again,  that  the  "Speaker  let  loco  focos 
rillify  whig  editor,  but  attempted  to  keep  whig  members  from  answering." — 
Hawkeye  and  Iowa  Patriot  (Burlington),  January  6,  1841. 


54  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

from  the  other  branches  of  government ;  he  receives  guests 
in  the  House  chamber;  he  receives  resignations  of  members 
and  employees;  he  represents  the  House  at  public  cere- 
monies; and  he  is  on  numerous  other  occasions  the  official 
representative  of  the  body  over  which  he  presides.  He  has 
even  been  party  to  a  legal  suit  as  the  representative  of  the 
House.*^ 

The  Speaker  carries  out  all  orders  of  the  House.  He 
issues  warrants  for  the  arrest  of  offenders  against  the 
House.  He  has  charge  of  all  proceedings  in  the  House, 
such  as  the,  selection  of  seats.  He  has  the  appointment  of 
not  a  few  officers  and  employees  and  supervises  the  assign- 
ment of  the  duties  and  stations  of  many  more.  He  also 
certifies  to  the  time  of  the  House  employees.  All  docu- 
ments, acts,  orders,  and  resolutions  of  the  House  must  be 
authenticated  by  the  Speaker's  signature.*^ 

In  recognition  of  the  services  of  the  Speaker,  he  is  al- 
lowed a  compensation  double  that  of  the  other  members. 
Thus,  at  present  he  receives  one  thousand  dollars  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  General  Assembly,  and  in  addition,  one  thousand 
dollars  as  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  There 
is  no  statutory  provision  for  this  expenditure ;  but  custom 
dictates  that  each,  house  should  include  this  appropriation 
in  the  omnibus  bill.®^ 


THE  SPEAKER  IN  THE  CHAIR 

The  parliamentary  powers  and  duties  of  the  Speaker  are 
derived  from  the  Constitution  and  statute  laws  of  the  State, 

84  House  Journal,  1838-1839,  pp.  25-27,  68,  1845-1846,  pp.  10,  190,  1917,  pp. 
931,  968;  Code  of  1897,  See.  1268  (2)  ;  The  Begister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines), 
January  12,  1911.     See  Cliff  v.  Parsons,  90  Iowa  665,  at  666. 

86 House  Journal,  1838-1839,  p.  90,  1846-1847,  p.  57,  1862  (Extra  Session), 
p.  4,  1892,  p.  503,  1915,  pp.  14,  15;  House  Mules,  1917,  Rule  8. 

86  Laws  of  Iowa,  1917,  Ch.  292,  Sec.  4,  p.  319, 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  55 

from  the  rules  of  the  House,  from  legislative  practice  in 
Iowa,  and  from  general  parliamentary  law.*^  The  Consti- 
tution requires  that  the  Speaker  shall  sign  bills,  and  that 
he  shall  open  and  publish  the  returns  of  the  election  for 
Governor  and  Lieutenant  Governor  in  the  presence  of  both 
houses  at  the  opening  of  the  session.  The  statute  laws  pro- 
vide that  he  shall  preside  in  joint  convention  in  the  absence 
of  the  President  of  the  Senate.  The  great  bulk  of  the  pow- 
ers and  duties  of  the  Speaker,  however,  are  derived  from 
custom  and  the  rules  of  the  House.®* 

The  first  duty  which  the  rules  impose  upon  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  is  that  of  opening  the  daily  sessions.  "He 
[the  speaker]  shall  take  the  chair  every  day  precisely  at 
the  hour  to  which  the  house  shall  have  adjourned;  shall 
immediately  call  the  members  to  order,  and  on  appearance 
of  a  quorum  shall  cause  the  journal  of  the  preceding  day  to 
be  read.^    If  no  quorum  is  present,  measures  may  be  taken 

87  The  Speaker  is  apparently  not  responsible  to  the  Honse  for  his  term  is 
fixed  by  law,  and  no  provision  is  made  for  his  removaL  The  question  of  re- 
moval has  never  arisen  in  Iowa,  as  it  never  has  in  Congress. —  FoUett's  The 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representaiives,  p.  124. 

M  Constitution  of  Iowa,  1857,  Art.  m.  Sec.  15,  Art.  IV,  See.  3;  Code  of 
1897,  Sec  23.  In  the  first  joint  convention  for  the  election  of  United  States 
Senator  in  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State,  the  Speaker  of  the  Honse  pre- 
sided, and  not  because  the  President  of  the  Senate  was  absent,  either.  "When 
the  senators  went  into  the  representative  hall,  Baker,  the  presiding  officer  of 
the  senate,  who  was  an  unassuming  man  ....  walked  up  to  the  stand 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  the  chair,  to  preside  over  the  joint  convention, 
Brown [e]  ....  sternly  refused  to  give  it  up  ...  .  Brown [e]  hav- 
ing possession  of  the  chair,  and  being  sustained  by  the  whigs,  retained  his 
position,  and  he  and  the  clerk  of  the  house  acted  as  the  officers  of  the  joint 
convention." — The  Annals  of  Iowa  (First  Series),  VoL  IX,  p.  650;  House 
Journal,  1846-1847,  p.  95. 

80  House  Rules,  1917,  Eule  1.  The  journal  was  formerly  read  regularly  each 
day.  Later  it  was  neglected  and  sometimes  the  journals  for  a  week  or  longer 
would  be  read  and  corrected  at  one  time.  Occasionally  it  was  overlooked  en- 
tirely. In  one  session  the  Speaker  suggested  that  all  members  interested  in 
matters  considered  the  preceding  day  should  examine  the  minutes  to  see  if 


56  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

to  secure  one.  Any  five  members,  if  the  Speaker  is  in  the 
chair,  can  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members.  Upon 
a  call  of  the  House,  the  Speaker  directs  the  sergeant-at-arms 
to  compel  absent  members  to  attend.  This  method  of  se- 
curing a  quorum  was  used  fourteen  times  in  the  Iowa 
House  in  1917.  In  former  sessions  members  sometimes 
refused  to  answer  roll  call  and  thus  prevented  action;  but 
the  ''Eeed  rule"  relative  to  a  quorum  has  now  been  adopted 
in  Iowa.  "Any  member  occupying  his  seat  during  a  call  of 
the  house  shall  be  counted  by  the  speaker  and  his  name  en- 
tered in  the  journal  as  being  present  but  not  voting,  for  the 
purpose  of  making  a  quorum."®^  A  duty  exercised  by  the 
Speaker  corresponding  to  that  of  calling  the  House  to  order 
is  the  duty  of  declaring,  upon  motion,  that  the  House  is  ad- 
journed. This  he  does  at  the  close  of  each  day's  session.  At 
the  hour  of  twelve  o'clock  noon  on  the  day  fixed  for  final 
adjournment  the  Speaker  declares  the  House  adjourned 
sine  die.^^    The  House  is  not  adjourned  until  the  Speaker  so 

they  were  correct.  At  present  the  journal  is  "corrected  and  approved"  daily, 
but  is  not  read  in  the  House. —  House  Journal,  1858,  p.  303,  1884,  p.  590, 
1898,  pp.  497,  906,  1917,  p.  193. 

^0  House  Rules,  1917,  Eules  35,  38.  The  "Eeed  rule"  was  adopted  in  the 
Iowa  House  in  1896.  The  President  of  the  Senate  found  it  necessary  to  use 
this  method  of  securing  a  quorum  as  early  as  1892,  but  the  first  record  of  it  in 
the  House  was  in  1896,  after  the  adoption  of  the  rule.  It  was  alleged  in  the 
session  of  1846-1847  that  business  was  transacted  when  no  quorum  was  present. 
—  House  Eules,  1894,  Rule  38,  1896,  Eule  38;  The  Iowa  State  Register  (Week- 
ly, Des  Moines),  January  22,  1892;  House  Journal,  1896,  p.  931;  Iowa  City 
Standard,  March  10,  1847. 

91  House  Journal,  1917,  p.  2221.  It  frequently  occurs,  on  the  day  of  ad- 
journment, that  business  can  not  be  completed  at  twelve  o'clock.  In  that 
event  it  is  customary  to  stop  the  hands  of  the  clock.  In  1884  when  the  gavel 
fell  at  twelve  by  the  clock,  members'  watches  read  five  o'clock.  In  1909  a  dis- 
gruntled member  attempted  to  force  adjournment  in  a  similar  situation  be- 
cause it  was  after  the  time  when  adjournment  was  supposed  to  take  place. 
The  Speaker,  who  had  ordered  the  clock  stopped,  pointed  to  it  and  said  he  was 
governed  by  that  clock.  The  House  cheered  enthusiastically. —  The  Register 
and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  February  17,  1907,  April  10,  1909. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  57 

pronounces  it.''^  The  Speaker  may  also  declare  tlie  House 
adjourned  for  a  short  recess.^^ 

One  of  the  important  duties  of  the  presiding  officer  is  the 
preservation  of  order  and  decorum.  Any  member  who,  in 
speaking  or  otherwise,  transgresses  the  rules  of  the  House, 
may  be  called  to  order  by  the  Speaker.^^  No  very  serious 
cases  of  unmanageable  disturbance  have  been  recorded  in 
the  Iowa  House.  Sometimes,  however,  members  become 
unruly  and  the  Speaker  has  difficulty.  When  James  M. 
Grant  was  Speaker,  he  had  difficulty  with  a  member  named 
Oilman  Folsom  who  was  dissatisfied  with  his  committee  as- 
signments. Folsom  denounced  the  Speaker  at  every  oppor- 
tunity and  often  became  very  abusive.  Grant  took  the  floor 
at  times  to  answer  him,  and  on  one  occasion  it  was  neces- 
sary for  the  Speaker  pro  tempore  to  have  the  sergeant-at- 
arms  separate  the  two  men.^^ 

The  duty  of  preserving  order  and  enforcing  parliamen- 
tary rules  in  debate  is  one  the  exercise  of  which  is  called 
into  play  much  more  frequently  and  generally  than  is  that 
of  quelling  disorder  on  the  floor.  The  Speaker  must  always 
see  that  members  restrain  themselves  within  the  rules  of 
order.  When  those  rules  are  transgressed,  he  must  call 
the  member  to  order.  He  must  always  keep  himself,  as  well 
as  the  House,  under  control.  This  often  requires  a  great 
deal  of  force  and  self-restraint.  John  Edwards,  although 
in  many  respects  an  admirable  presiding  officer,  was  unable 

»2  Compare  with  Jefferson's  Manual,  See.  50. 

83  How  the  Speaker  may  manipulate  the  procedure  in  the  House  to  subserve 
party  ends  was  seen  in  the  extra  session  of  1908,  when  Speaker  Kendall  ordered 
a  ten  minute  recess  and  a  Kepublican  caucus  was  held  in  that  ten  minutes. — 
The  Register  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  September  1,  1908. 

8*  The  Speaker  also  has  power  to  clear  the  lobby  in  case  of  any  disturbance 
or  disorderly  conduct. —  Souse  Bules,  1917,  Eules  2,  9,  12. 

95  Pioneer  Lawmakers '  Association  of  Iowa,  Proceedings,  1896.  p.  33. 


58  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

to  control  the  deliberations  of  the  House.  During  the  ses- 
sion in  which  he  was  Speaker  there  was  much  annoying 
filibustering.  Edwards  was  in  poor  health  and  was  often 
worried  almost  beyond  endurance.  On  such  occasions  he 
would  call  N.  B.  Baker  or  Ed  Wright  to  the  chair,  and  the 
gavel  would  be  wielded  with  a  firmer  hand.  Ed  Wright 
was,  on  the  other  hand,  thoroughly  master  of  the  situation 
at  all  times.  The  Chief  Clerk  of  the  House  said  later  that 
he  did  not  recall ' '  an  instance  in  which  he  was  disconcerted 
or  baffled  for  a  single  moment.  He  was  thoroughly  in- 
formed upon  every  point  of  parliamentary  law,  and  kept 
the  House  and  himself  well  in  hand. ' '  The  presiding  officer 
should  never  lose  his  temper  as  did  the  Speaker  at  a  recent 
session  of  the  General  Assembly  upon  one  occasion.^^ 

The  Speaker  always  decides,  subject  to  review  by  the 
House,  all  points  of  order.  Most  points  of  order  are  de- 
cided as  they  arise,  but  sometimes  a  longer  time  is  required 
for  ruling  upon  them.  Occasionally  a  day  or  two  is  taken 
by  the  Speaker  to  decide  a  point  of  order.  Sometimes  he 
obtains  assistance  from  the  floor  or  submits  the  question  to 
the  House.^'^    Often  a 'written  ruling  on  a  mooted  point  is 

»6  Pioneer  Lawmakers '  Association  of  Iowa,  Proceedings,  1886,  p.  22 ;  The 
Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  I,  pp.  84,  85,  Vol.  II,  pp.  379,  380;  The 
Bes  Moines  Register,  March  23,  1917.  In  the  session  over  which  Stephen  B. 
Shelledy  presided  there  was  a  member  who  constantly  criticised  the  Speaker 
because  he  did  not  control  in  a  more  autocratic  manner  the  procedure  of  the 
House.  He  complained  that  altogether  too  much  time  was  wasted  in  extended 
discussion.  On  the  last  day  of  the  session  there  was  a  lull  in  proceedings,  and 
Shelledy  called  him  to  the  chair.  He  soon  discovered  that  keeping  order  in  the 
House  was  no  small  job.  "He  had  scarcely  squared  himself  in  the  chair, 
when  a  member  rose  to  a  question  of  personal  privilege. ' '  Ed  Wright  at  once 
interposed  with  a  point  of  order.  "In  an  instant  another  member  was  on  his 
feet  in  defense  of  his  right  to  speak,  another  was  up  in  defense  of  the  point 
of  order,  whilst  a  third  was  insisting  that  the  Chair  should  decide  the  point  of 
order.  So  for  the  next  half  hour  Bedlam  was  turned  loose." — Pioneer  Law- 
makers' Association  of  Iowa,  Proceedirlgs,  1892,  p.  62. 

oT  House  Bules,  1917,  Eule  2;  Tri-Weekly  Iowa  State  Journal  (Des  Moines), 
January  27,  1858;  House  Journal,  1917,  p.  1378. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  59 

distributed  and  printed  in  the  journal.  At  times  a  Speaker 
will  reverse  his  decision.  Appeals  from  the  decision  of  the 
chair  are  common  and  it  is  not  at  all  unusual  for  the  de- 
cision to  be  overruled.  It  has  been  claimed  for  but  one 
Speaker  —  Rush  Clark  —  that  there  was  not  a  single  appeal 
from  any  decision  he  ever  made.  An  attempt  was  once 
made  to  refer  a  decision  of  the  chair  to  a  committee,  but 
such  an  unusual  procedure  was  voted  down.  The  Speaker 
of  the  Thirty-seventh  General  Assembly  made  an  impas- 
sioned appeal  to  the  House  on  one  occasion  to  sustain  his 
decision.^ ^    The  Speaker  may  sidestep  decisions  and  leave 

Speakers  were  accustomed  frequently  to  call  on  Ed  Wright  to  straighten 
out  parliamentary  kinks.  "If  the  House  got  into  a  tangle,  every  one  was 
willing  to  smother  his  wrath  and  sit  quietly  while  Ed  explained  the  situation 
and  brought  order  out  of  the  chaos." — Pioneer  Lawmakers'  Association  of 
Iowa,  Proceedings,  1886,  p.  22;  The  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  11, 
p.  377. 

88  He  is  quoted  as  saying  '  *  I  am  ashamed  of  the  members  of  this  house  who 
refuse  to  uphold  the  chair". —  The  Des  Moines  Begister,  March  23,  1917. 

An  unusual  thing  happened  in  connection  with  a  ruling  by  the  Speaker  on  a 
point  of  order  in  the  Thirty-seventh  General  Assembly.  House  File  No.  403 
was  passed  by  the  House  and  passed  with  amendments  by  the  Senate.  When 
the  bill  as  amended  came  up  in  the  House  on  March  30th,  it  was  moved  that 
the  amendments  be  laid  on  the  table.  Turner  of  Iowa  raised  the  point  of 
order  that  '  *  inasmuch  as  the  motion  to  lay  the  Senate  amendments  on  the  table 
would  involve  the  final  disposition  of  the  bUl,  the  motion  would  require  a  Con- 
stitutional majority."  On  April  5th  the  Speaker  ruled  on  this  point  of  order 
that  it  could  not  be  sustained  upon  the  reason  assigned  by  the  member,  but 
that  it  could  be  sustained  upon  another  ground,  namely,  that  it  was  in  conflict 
with  Joint  Eule  No.  1  of  the  General  Assembly.  This  rule  provides  that  in  a 
situation  such  as  confronted  the  House  at  that  time,  one  of  three  things  must 
be  done.  The  House  could  "(1)  amend  an  amendment  made  by  the  Senate 
to  a  bill  passed  by  the  House  and  returned  to  it  for  concurrence,  or  (2)  concur 
in  the  amendment  made  by  the  Senate,  or  (3)  refuse  to  concur  therein."  The 
Speaker  ruled  that  tabling  the  amendment  nullified  this  joint  rule.  Seven  mem- 
bers, including  the  Speaker  pro  tempore  prepared  and  had  privately  printed 
and  distributed  a  three-page  "Statement  In  Be  Point  of  Order  Eaised  by  the 
Gentleman  from  Iowa,  Mr.  Turner,  in  Belation  to  House  File  No.  403." 
Herein  the  right  of  the  Speaker  to  "voluntarily  and  of  his  own  motion"  raise 
a  point  of  order  "after  a  vote  has  been  taken,  and  the  result  announced"  was 
denied.    They  thoroughly  fortified  their  position  by  the  citation  of  authorities. 


60  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

them  to  a  vote  of  the  House.  He  has  been  known  to  rule 
appeals  out  of  order  altogether.®^ 

Most  Speakers  are  more  or  less  arbitrary  in  their  rulings 
from  the  chair.  According  to  the  tact  which  they  use  they 
are  praised  or  blamed  for  this  quality.  Speaker  Funk  was 
often  arbitrary,  but  he  was  also  usually  in  the  right. 
Speaker  Clarke  was  complimented  because  he  forced  busi- 
ness through  by  the  aid  of  autocratic  decisions.  It  w^as 
said  of  W.  P.  Wolf  that  he  was  ''positive  in  his  rulings 
from  the  chair,  and  sometimes  almost  belligerent,  but  al- 
ways just."  The  Chief  Clerk  at  one  time  warned  the 
Speaker  of  the  Twenty-seventh  General  Assembly  that  he 
was  ruining  his  political  future  by  persisting  in  the  arbi- 
trary rule  he  was  making,  but  the  warning  had  no  effect.^^*' 

Decisions  are,  of  course,  based  on  precedent;  but  occa- 
sionally a  Speaker  either  does  not  follow  precedent  or 
makes  a  new  precedent  for  others  who  succeed  him.  Jacob 
Butler  as  Speaker  of  the  Tenth  General  Assembly  ruled 
that  a  two-thirds  vote  was  necessary  to  take  up  a  bill  which 

Moreover,  the  decision  of  the  Speaker  was  criticised  in  itself.  It  was  con- 
tended that  a  motion  to  table  an  amendment  did  not  finally  dispose  of  the  bill, 
but  only  temporarily  removed  it  from  the  consideration  of  the  House.  Of 
course  in  practice  it  really  is  finally  disposed  of,  especially  in  the  Senate, 
where  a  two-thirds  vote  is  necessary  to  remove  it  from  the  table.  But  in  the 
situation  as  it  existed  in  the  House  of  this  session,  the  protest  was  doubtless 
justified.— ffoMse  Journal,  1917,  pp.  1178,  1383,  1418,  1419,  1644-47;  Senate 
Journal,  1917,  p.  1282;  Joint  Bules,  1917,  Eule  No.  1;  Senate  Mules,  1917, 
Eule  38. 

09  The  Des  Moines  Register,  April  3,  1917 ;  House  Journal,  1843-1844,  pp. 
39,  40,  1846-1847,  p.  73,  1866,  p.  409,  1909,  p.  1654,  1917,  pp.  1645-1647, 
1648;  Pioneer  Lawmakers'  Association  of  Iowa,  Proceedings,  1906,  pp.  23,  24. 

100  The  Iowa  State  Begister  (Weekly,  Des  Moines),  March  25,  1898;  The 
Begister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  April  12,  1904,  April  7,  1906;  Pioneer 
Lawmakers'  Association  of  Iowa,  Proceedings,  1907,  p.  42.  Upon  one  occasion, 
when  a  member  attempted  to  instruct  the  Speaker  on  a  point  of  procedure,  he 
' '  was  politely  told  by  the  Speaker  that  he  was  familiar  with  the  parliamentary 
rule  on  that  question." — Pioneer  Lawmakers'  Association  of  Iowa,  Proceed- 
ings, 1907,  p.  42. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  61 

had  been  reported  unfavorably  by  a  committee.  There  was 
indignant  protest  that  no  such  rule  existed.  Butler  ex- 
plained that  he  had  made  the  rule  "to  expedite  business  and 
for  the  public  good"  and  that  it  would  remain  the  rule 
until  stricken  out  by  the  House.  Thus  by  a  parliamentary 
decision  a  bill  was  killed.  The  great  power  which  a  Speaker 
may  exercise  over  legislation  by  the  mere  manipulation  of 
parliamentary  rules  was  well  illustrated  in  the  session  of 
the  Thirty-seventh  General  Assembly.  The  bill  creating  an 
eighth  judge  in  the  Iowa  Supreme  Court  had  been  passed 
by  both  houses.  The  Senate  had,  however,  passed  it  with 
an  amendment,  in  which  it  asked  the  House  to  concur.  The 
House  tabled  the  motion  to  concur  by  a  vote  of  fifty-one  to 
forty-nine.  The  Speaker  was  interested  in  the  bill,  and 
might  revive  it  by  ruling  that  the  motion  to  table  was  out  of 
order.  He  so  ruled,  not  upon  the  ground  raised  by  the 
member  who  made  the  point  of  order,  namely,  that  it  re- 
quired a  constitutional  majority  to  finally  dispose  of  the 
bill;  but  because  such  action  was  not  in  accord  with  the 
joint  rules  of  the  General  Assembly.  The  ruling  revived 
the  bill,  but  was  denounced  as  unjust  and  unprecedented. 
While  there  was  no  appeal  from  this  ruling,  the  bill  was 
defeated  a  few  hours  later.  Thus,  it  may  be  seen  that  pre- 
siding officers  make  parliamentary  law  just  as  judges  in 
the  courts  make  Common  Law,  and  decisions  are  often  of 
great  political  importance.  Especially  in  dealing  with  ob- 
struction can  the  Speaker  accomplish  much  by  the  decisions 
he  makes. ^*^^ 

A  perfunctory  but  necessary  duty  of  all  presiding  oflScers 
is  the  announcing  of  the  order  of  business.    Over  this  order 

101  Pioneer  Laxcmdkers'  Association  of  Iowa,  Proceedings,  1894,  pp.  44,  45; 
The  Register  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  February  17,  1907;  TAe  Bes  Moines 
Begister,  March  31,  April  6,  1917;  Hotise  Journal,  1917,  pp.  1645-1648.  See 
note  98,  above. 


62  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

he  has  very  slight  authority ;  it  is  determined  by  the  rules. 
Another  necessary  duty  and  one  which  is  purely  parliamen- 
tary is  the  obligation  to  put  to  vote  all  motions  and  propo- 
sitions which  are  in  order.  The  rules  require  that  ''when 
a  motion  is  made  and  seconded,  it  shall  be  stated  by  the 
speaker".  When  any  matter  under  consideration  is  voted 
upon,  it  devolves  upon  the  Speaker  to  announce  the  vote.^^^ 

The  respect  which  parliamentary  usage  accords  to  the 
Speaker  assists  him  in  the  performance  of  his  duties.  Any 
one  who  desires  to  participate  in  the  discussion  on  the  floor 
of  the  House  must  first  ''rise  from  his  seat  and  respect- 
fully address  himself  to  the  presiding  officer  by  his  title, 
saying  'Mr.  Speaker'  ".  The  rules  require  that  "when  a 
member  is  speaking, —  no  one  shall  ....  pass  be- 
tween him  and  the  speaker."  The  office  carries  with  it  a 
certain  sense  of  dignity,  and  a  certain  demand  for  courte- 
ous treatment  which  is  as  a  rule  complied  with.^^^ 

The  Speaker  must  recognize  members  who  address  him 
before  they  can  proceed  to  speak.  He  does  not  assign  the 
floor  to  a  member  by  name,  but  refers  to  him  as  ' '  the  gentle- 
man from  Woodbury",  or  whatever  county  he  happens  to 
represent.  The  power  of  recognition  is  one  which  may  be 
used  for  the  advancing  of  party  interest  but  which  in  Iowa 
is  so  used  to  only  a  limited  extent.  In  strict  parliamentary 
law,  when  the  possession  of  the  floor  is  claimed  by  two  or 
more  members,  that  one  should  be  recognized  who  first 
catches  the  eye  of  the  Speaker.    In  practice,  however,  the 

102  The  Speaker  may  remain  seated  while  stating  a  motion;  but  is  required 
to  rise  when  he  puts  the  question  to  the  House. —  Rouse  Bules,  1917,  Eules  3, 
10,  19. 

103  House  Bules,  1917,  Eules  11,  15. 

A  member  in  the  First  General  Assembly  — ' '  Father ' '  Clifton  —  could  not 
accustom  himself  to  addressing  the  Speaker  by  his  title,  but  would  always 
break  out  "Now,  General  Brown,"  and  continue  with  what  he  desired  to  say. 
—  Pioneer  Laicmakers'  Association  of  Iowa,  Proceedings,  1896,  p.  34. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  63 

Speaker  uses  Ms  judgment  as  to  whom  he  shall  assign  the 
floor,  and  it  is  purely  arbitrary.  Indeed,  the  rules  now 
provide  that  ''Should  two  or  more  members  rise  at  the 
same  time,  the  speaker  shall  designate  the  member  entitled 
to  speak."  The  Speaker,  under  the  practice,  even  deter- 
mines who  rose  first  or  whether  members  did  rise  at  the 
same  time.  In  the  national  House  it  is  common  practice 
for  the  Speaker  to  ask  a  member  ''for  what  purpose"  he 
arises.  There,  as  well  as  in  many  of  the  States  including 
Iowa,  the  Speaker  has  a  list  of  those  who  desire  recog- 
nition.i^^ 

Certain  usages  have  grown  up  in  connection  with  recog- 
nition. The  Speaker  will  generally  recognize  a  conamittee 
in  the  person  of  its  chairman  in  preference  to  an  individual 
member;  if  a  member  has  charge  of  a  certain  bill,  he  has 
preferred  recognition ;  matters  of  privilege  or  questions  of 
order  are  means  by  which  a  member  may  secure  the  floor; 
during  debate  the  floor  is  usually  granted  alternately  to 
members  of  the  different  factions.  It  frequently  happens 
that  the  manner  in  which  a  man  seeks  recognition  secures 
it  for  him.  Upon  occasion  it  will  happen  that  the  Speaker 
will  refuse  recognition  if  the  manifest  purpose  is  to  fili- 
buster. Speaker  Cunningham  announced  in  1913  that  he 
would  refuse  recognition  when  it  was  sought  for  the  pur- 
pose of  recording  votes  for  members  who  had  been  absent 
when  the  vote  was  taken.^^^ 

104  House  Bules,  1917,  Rule  13 ;  FoUett  's  The  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, pp.  250,  251. 

That  it  is  not  always  an  easy  matter  to  secure  recognition  is  evidenced  by 
the  following:  "Sankey's  resolution  is  due  to  come  today,  if  he  desires  it,  and 
can  get  Speaker  Feely's  eye." — The  Begister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines), 
January  12,  1909. 

105  The  Begister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  March  11,  1913;  The  Des  Moines 
Begister,  March  10,  1917. 

It  was  said  of  Samuel  McNutt  — in  the  Tenth,  Eleventh,  Twelfth,  Thir- 
teenth, and  Fourteenth  General  Assemblies  —  that  he  "could  arise  to  his  feet 


64  SPEAKER  OP  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

One  of  the  really  important  and  yet  purely  ministerial 
duties  imposed  upon  the  Speaker  is  that  of  signing  bills  and 
joint  resolutions  which  pass  the  two  houses  of  the  General 
Assembly.  The  Constitution  of  the  State  prescribes  the 
exercise  of  this  function.  It  is  also  provided  for  in  the  rules 
of  the  House  and  the  joint  rules  of  the  General  Assembly. 
The  bills  which  are  passed  are  enrolled  and  then  examined 
by  a  joint  enrollment  committee,  who  report  the  correct  en- 
rollment of  the  bills  to  their  respective  houses.  The  bills 
are  then  signed,  first  by  the  Speaker  of  the  House  and  then 
by  the  President  of  the  Senate,  before  being  sent  to  the 
Governor  for  approval.  In  the  Thirty-eighth  General  As- 
sembly, House  File  No.  1  was  passed  by  both  houses  before 
the  enrollment  committee  was  appointed,  and  Speaker 
McFarlane  signed  it  without  its  being  reported  correctly 
enrolled.  The  joint  rules  of  the  First  General  Assembly 
provided  that  bills  should  be  signed  "in  the  respective 
Houses",  but  when  Speaker  Browne  was  ill,  bills  were 
taken  over  to  his  lodging,  one  hundred  yards  from  the 
capitol  building  for  him  to  sign.^^® 

In  the  early  days  the  Speaker  was  not  always  careful 
about  performing  this  duty  efficiently.  After  the  session  of 
1847-1848,  it  was  alleged  that  the  laws  were  in  very  poor 

and  get  recognition  from  the  speaker  with  more  celerity  than  any  man  I  have 
ever  seen.  Quicker  than  a  flash  he  was  on  his  feet,  and  with  a  sort  of  '  wildness 
in  his  aspect,'  his  raven  hair  standing  out,  his  large,  black  eyes  gleaming,  his 
hand  upraised,  his  whole  attitude  theatrical  as  ever  was  that  of  Shell  or 
Curran,  he  would  cry  out  'Mr.  Speaker,'  with  a  voice  so  percussive,  and  with 
an  air  so  dramatic  that  it  had  the  immediate  effect  to  impress  both  the  speaker 
and  the  house,  that  some  startling  announcement  was  about  to  be  made.  He 
seldom  failed  to  get  his  shovel  in  ahead." — Fioneer  Lawmakers'  Association 
of  Iowa,  Proceedings,  1898,  p.  26. 

106  Constitution  of  Iowa,  1857,  Art.  Ill,  Sec.  15;  House  Eules,  1917,  Eule  8; 
J(/int  Eules,  1846-1847,  Eule  7,  1917,  Eule  6;  Iowa  City  Standard,  February  3, 
1847;  House  Journal,  1919,  p.  99. 

Eeeent  rules  have  prescribed  that  the  Speaker  and  President  sign  bills  "in 
the  presence  of  their  respective  houses." — Joint  Rules,  1917,  Eule  6. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  65 

shape,  some  of  them  not  even  having  been  signed  by  the 
presiding  officers.  The  question  of  the  validity  of  these 
laws  was  not  raised,  however.  But  in  1904  that  question  did 
arise.  House  File  No.  458  was  passed  by  the  House  and 
sent  to  the  Senate.  The  Senate  passed  the  bill  almost  im- 
mediately. The  House  had  a  rule  that  allowed  reconsider- 
ation within  twenty-four  hours,  and  the  bill  was  reconsid- 
ered within  that  time  but  not  until  after  it  had  been  passed 
by  the  Senate.  When  requested  by  the  House  to  return  the 
bill,  the  Senate  refused.  But  of  course  it  was  necessary  to 
send  the  bill  to  the  House  for  enrollment  and  signature. 
Ordinarily  it  would  not  again  come  up  for  reconsideration 
in  the  House,  but  would  remain  in  the  custody  of  the  re- 
cording officer  until  enrolled  by  the  enrolling  clerk  and 
presented  to  the  Speaker  for  his  signature.  The  enrolling 
clerk,  however,  is  subject  to  the  direction  of  the  House ;  and 
the  House  voted  that  House  File  No.  458  should  not  be" 
enrolled  immediately  but  reserved  for  further  consider- 
ation.^"^ 

This  action  of  the  House  in  refusing  to  enroll  the  bill 
precipitated  a  heated  discussion.  The  House  maintained 
that  the  Speaker  could  not  sign  the  bill  until  it  was  en- 
rolled. The  Senators  who  favored  the  bill  insisted  that  it 
was  the  constitutional  duty  of  the  Speaker  to  sign  the  bills 
that  were  passed  by  both  houses,  and  that  the  action  of  the 
House  in  refusing  to  endorse  its  enrollment  could  make  no 
difference.  The  question  arose  as  to  whether  or  not  the  bill 
could  become  law  without  the  signature  of  the  Speaker. 
Could  he  be  compelled  to  sign  ?  It  was  generally  conceded 
that  he  must  sign.    Representative  Temple  planned  to  intro- 

107  Iowa  City  Standard,  February  9,  1848;  Hotise  Journal,  1904,  p.  1273, 
1300,  1317.  1319;  House  Sules,  1904,  Eiile  32;  Statute  Law-maTcing  in  Iowa  in 
the  loica  Applied  History  Series,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  268,  269;  Iowa  Manual  of  Leg- 
islative Procedure,  Thirty-seventh  General  Assembly,  p.  89. 


66  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

duce  a  resolution  authorizing  the  Speaker  to  refuse  to  sign 
bills,  thus  putting  the  House  back  of  his  action.  But  the 
House  on  the  following  day  brought  up  the  bill  for  consid- 
eration and  it  was  defeated  on  passage  by  a  vote  of  fifty- 
eight  to  four.  Adjournment  sine  die  was  scheduled  for  the 
following  day  and  there  was  no  time  for  the  Senate  to 
register  a  protest.  They  merely ' '  passed  on  file ' '  the  House 
message  which  apprised  them  of  the  action  of  the  House. 
Thus  the  question  of  whether  or  not  an  act  of  the  legis- 
lature was  invalidated  by  the  failure  of  a  Speaker  to  sign  it 
remained  for  the  time  undecided. ^^^^ 

A  few  years  later,  however,  the  matter  again  pressed  for 
decision.  Following  the  session  of  the  Thirty-third  Uen- 
eral  Assembly,  it  was  discovered  that  the  enrolled  bill, 
Senate  File  No.  37  (Ch.  214,  33  G.  A.),  printed  in  the  Code 
Supplement  of  1913  as  sections  4944-a  to  4944-h  inclusive, 
failed  to  show  the  signature  of  the  Speaker  of  the  House. ^^^ 
The  question  of  whether  or  not  these  sections  of  the  Code 
were  law  came  up  for  judicial  settlement  in  the  case  of  State 
V.  Lynch,  169  Iowa  148.  It  had  been  held  in  a  number  of 
Iowa  cases  that  the  enrolled  bill  duly  signed  and  deposited 
with  the  Secretary  of  State  was  the  ultimate  proof  of  its 
regular  enactment,  and  that  the  court  would  not  go  behind 
that  record  and  consult  the  journals  of  the  houses  to  ascer- 
tain the  legislative  intent.^^*^    But  the  case  of  a  bill  which 

108  TTie  Begister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  April  11,  1904;  House  Journal, 
1904,  pp.  1324,  1325;  Senate  Journal,  1904,  p.  1204. 

109  Supplement  to  the  Code  of  Iowa,  1913,  p.  1795. 

110  This  doctrine  is  given  expression  in  Clare  v.  The  State,  5  Iowa  509 ; 
Buncombe  v.  Prindle,  12  Iowa  1  at  11;  Collins  v.  Laucier,  45  Iowa  702; 
Koehler  &  Lange  v.  Hill,  60  Iowa  541;  Jordan  v.  Circuit  Coairt  of  Wapello 
Co.,  69  Iowa  177;  Des  Moines  Ey.  Co.  v.  Des  Moines,  152  Iowa  18;  Conly  v. 
Dilley,  153  Iowa  677;  Miller  v.  City  of  Oelwein,  155  Iowa  706;  and  the  whole 
line  of  decisions  is  reviewed  in  the  recent  case  of  State  v.  Lynch,  169  Iowa 
148.    See  pages  450-455  of  Patton's  Interpretation  and  Construction  of  Stat- 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  67 

was  not  signed  had  never  been  the  subject  of  judicial  re- 
view. It  was  decided  in  State  v.  Lynch,  however,  that  ''in 
order  that  a  bill  may  become  a  valid  law  of  this  state,  com- 
pliance with  the  section  of  the  Constitution  under  consider- 
ation (Sec.  15  of  Article  3),  exacting  the  signature  of  the 
speaker  of  the  house  as  well  as  that  of  the  president  of  the 
senate,  is  essential  to  the  authentication  of  the  bill  in  form 
and  substance  as  well  as  essential  to  certifying  its  pas- 
sage '  \  and  that ' '  in  consequence  thereof,  chapter  214  of  the 
33rd  general  assembly,  not  having  been  signed  by  the  speak- 
er, is  not  and  never  was  a  part  of  the  laws  of  this  state.  "^^^ 
The  Speaker  of  the  Thirty-seventh  General  Assembly 
failed  to  affix  his  signature  to  two  acts  passed  at  the  1917 
session  —  Senate  File  No.  25  and  Senate  File  No.  403.  The 
editor  of  the  session  laws  put  them  in  as  addenda,  indicating 
that  they  were  not  to  be  considered  as  valid  laws.  What 
might  be  the  result  in  case  the  courts  went  behind  the  en- 
rolled bill  and  consulted  the  journals  of  the  house  is  here 
illustrated.  For  the  journal  of  the  House  for  April  12th 
records  the  announcement  of  the  Speaker  that  he  had 
signed  these  two  bills  in  the  presence  of  the  House.  The 
enrolled  bills  furnish  proof  that  he  did  not.  It  is  presumed, 
of  course,  that  when  the  Speaker  fails  to  sign  bills  he  does 
so  through  neglect.  Such  a  failure,  however,  gives  him  as 
well  as  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  a  veto  which,  when  it  is 
not  discovered,  is  in  effect  equal  to  that  of  the  Governor. 
It  is  interesting  to  conjecture  whether  or  not  the  Speaker 
could  be  compelled  to  sign  acts  passed  by  both  houses  of 
the  General  Assembly.  It  is  generally  conceded  that  the 
provision  in  the  Constitution  is  mandatory,  although  it  is 

utes  in  Iowa  in  Statute  Law-making  in  Iowa,  in  the  Iowa  Applied  History 
Series,  Vol.  Ill,  for  a  discussion  of  this  point  as  expressed  by  the  cases  prior 
to  State  V.  Lynch. 

"1  State  V.  Lynch,  169  Iowa  148,  at  170,  171. 


68  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

only  indirectly  so.  Very  probably  the  courts  would  inter- 
pret this  provision  in  accordance  with  the  case  of  Marhury 
V.  Madison,  as  prescribing  the  performance  of  a  ministerial 
act,  and  allow  a  writ  of  mandamus  to  be  served  on  the 
Speaker  compelling  him  to  sign.^^^ 

XI 
THE  SPEAKER  AS  POLITOCRAT 

The  official  conduct  of  the  Speaker  exhibits  evidences  of 
political  activity.  In  Iowa  the  political  power  of  the  Speak- 
er is  mainly  derived  from  and  exercised  in  the  functions  of 
''appointment"  and  ''reference".  The  power  of  recogni- 
tion has  been  treated  as  parliamentary  rather  than  political 
in  character,  because  in  this  State  the  Speaker  has  not  to 
any  great  extent  used  his  privilege  of  recognition  of  mem- 
bers in  debate  for  factional  purposes.  The  Iowa  House  is 
small,  much  of  the  work  is  done  by  committees,  and  mem- 
bers do  not  seek  recognition  frequently.  No  member  who 
desires  to  speak  will  find  any  great  difficulty  in  securing  the 
floor.  In  addition  to  the  influence  used  in  connection  with 
the  two  functions  of  appointment  and  reference,  the  Speaker 
may,  as  a  member  voting  and  speaking,  be  as  thorough  a 
partisan  as  he  wishes. 

The  greatest  political  power  possessed  by  the  presiding 
officer  of  the  Iowa  House  is  that  of  appointing  the  chairmen 
of  committees,  particularly  of  the  standing  committees. 
The  performance  of  this  function  has  been  accorded  to  the 
Speaker  of  the  Iowa  House  throughout  the  history  of  the 

112  Laws  of  Iowa,  1917,  pp.  467-469;  House  Journal,  1917,  p.  2006.  The 
Constitution  reads  "every  bill  ....  shall  be  signed  by  the  Speaker". 
To  be  directly  mandatory  it  should  read  "The  Speaker  shall  sign  every  bill". 
It  is  doubtful,  however,  if  the  courts  would  recognize  this  distinction. —  Con- 
stitution of  Iowa,  1857,  Art.  Ill,  Sec.  15. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  69 

office.  The  House  rules  of  each  session  have  provided  that 
unless  otherwise  especially  directed  by  the  House,  all  com- 
mittees should  be  appointed  by  the  Speaker.  True,  it  was 
customary  for  a  number  of  years  for  the  House  in  each 
session  to  authorize  by  resolution  the  appointment  of  com- 
mittees by  the  Speaker;  and  frequently  he  was  instructed 
as  to  what  committees  should  be  appointed.^^^ 

Steady  and  consistent  growth  has  marked  the  increase  of 
the  Speaker 's  power  of  committee  appointment,  until  to-day 
it  is  practically  absolute :  the  Speaker  now  has  the  sole  and 
final  authority  over  the  composition  of  the  standing  com- 
mittees,^" and  for  some  years  has  abolished  and  created 
them  at  vdW.  There  has  been  little  tendency  in  Iowa  to  curb 
the  power  of  the  Speaker  in  respect  to  the  appointment  of 
committees,  although  there  was  talk  among  the  **  stand- 
patters" in  1911  of  attempting  to-  secure  a  committee  on 
committees. ^^^ 

113  Fowsc  Eules,  1838-1839,  Eule  I,  1917,  Rule  6;  House  Journal,  1838- 
1839,  p.  19;  1839-1840,  p.  8,  1840-1841,  p.  6;  1841-1842,  pp.  8,  9,  1898,  p.  17. 

In  the  extra  session  of  1840  the  Speaker  was  authorized  to  appoint  the  usual 
standing  committees  at  his  pleasure. —  House  Journal,  1840  (Extra  Session), 
p.  8. 

114  The  only  legal  limitation  upon  this  power  is  in  the  case  of  the  jo;nt 
standing  committee  on  retrenchment  and  reform,  which  is  a  statutory  com- 
mittee. The  membership  of  this  committee  in  the  House  is  prescribed  as  the 
chairmen  of  the  House  standing  committees  on  appropriations,  ways  and 
means,  and  judiciary,  together  with  two  members  appointed  by  the  Speaker 
from  the  minority  party. —  Supplement  to  the  Code  of  Iowa,  WIS,  See.  181. 

115  Tfte  Bes  Moines  Register,  January  13,  1917;  TTie  Register  and  Leader 
(Des  Moines),  January  6,  1911. 

The  Speaker  in  the  national  House  has  in  recent  years  been  shorn  of  the 
privilege  of  committee  appointment,  but  the  result  has  not  been  altogether 
satisfactory.  A  recent  observer  says  it  was  done  "upon  the  theory  that  the 
Speaker  had  become  a  great  boss  and  that  we  could  prevent  the  abuse  of 
power  by  taking  power  from  him"  but  he  asserts  that  "we  created  in  lieu  of 
that  a  dozen  or  more  bosses,  not  one  of  whom  is  in  any  sense  responsible  and 
no  one  of  whom  can  be  held  responsible  for  any  abuse." — Charles  Merz  in 
The  New  Republic,  Vol.  XI,  p.  187. 


70  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

The  Speaker  is  not  a  law  unto  himself,  however,  in  the 
matter  of  committee  appointments.  He  must  take  into 
account  any  number  of  considerations.  For,  after  all,  as 
American  legislative  bodies  are  organized,  the  work  is  done 
and  the  enactment  of  legislation  is  largely  controlled  by 
committees.  The  Speaker,  who  is  elected  by  a  party  or  a 
faction  must  therefore  name  committees  which  will  see  that 
his  policies  and  those  of  his  supporters  are  made  law.  Con- 
sequently in  making  up  the  committee  lists  the  Speaker 
must  reward  the  men  of  his  own  faction  who  have  secured 
his  election.  In  1900,  thirty-two  of  the  chairmanships  in  the 
House  went  to  new  members.  Of  this  number,  thirty-one 
were  given  to  members  of  the  faction  of  forty-three  men 
who  voted  for  Mr.  Bowen  for  Speaker  in  the  caucus.  Some 
of  the  leaders  of  the  Eaton  party  were  given  substantial 
recognition,  but  others  failed  to  receive  important  positions. 
Especially  are  leading  supporters  or  strong  opponents  fa- 
vored with  the  chairmanships  of  the  most  important 
committees.  Probably  the  most  desirable  committee  chair- 
manships are  those  of  judiciary,  ways  and  means,  and  ap- 
propriations committees,  although  sometimes  a  member 
will  prefer  some  other  committee  because  of  special  legis- 
lation in  which  he  is  interested.^^^ 

The  making  up  of  committee  lists  is  in  itself  no  small 
task.  There  are  nearly  a  thousand  committee  places  to  be 
awarded  and  when  the  number  of  new  members  is  very 

116  Tfte  Iowa  State  Register  (Weekly,  Des  Moines),  January  19,  1900. 

Frequently  committee  chairmanships  are  given  to  leaders  of  opposing  fac- 
tions for  final  support  in  the  caucus.  In  the  Tenth  General  Assembly,  Bereman 
was  a  strong  contender  for  the  speakership  against  Jacob  Butler,  but  gave  way 
before  the  end  and  "was  rewarded  by  what  was  then  regarded  as  the  best 
place  in  the  gift  of  the  speaker" — the  chairmanship  of  the  judiciary  com- 
mittee. In  1896,  too,  Speaker  Gear  gave  Mr.  Stone,  his  competitor  for  the 
gavel,  "the  chairmanship  of  the  leading  Committee  of  the  House  —  that  on 
Judiciary." — Iowa  State  Weekly  Register  (Des, Moines),  January  21,  1876; 
Pioneer  Lawmakers'  Association  of  Iowa,  Proceedings,  1898,  p.  24. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  71 

great  it  means  that  there  is  a  large  number  of  vacancies  to 
be  filled. ^^■^  The  principle  of  seniority  is  largely  followed, 
but  it  can  not  be  made  an  absolute  rule.  Sometimes  the 
old  members  are  given  the  best  committee  appointments, 
sometimes  the  new  members  are  thus  rewarded.^^^  Com- 
mittees must  of  course  be  framed  with  a  knowledge  of  what 
legislation  they  are  to  ratify.  The  roads  committee  of  1913 
was  undoubtedly  framed  for  a  purpose.  In  1896  the  Iowa 
Federation  of  Building  and  Loan  Associations  put  forth 
every  effort  to  have  Byers  elected  Speaker,  **and  the  re- 
sult was  an  excellent  building  and  loan  committee  in  the 
House."  In  the  last  session  of  the  General  Assembly  "the 
highways  committee  of  the  house  was  hand-picked  by  Pitt 
to  facilitate  abolishment  of  the  highway  commission. ' '  The 
committees  on  the  suppr«ssion  of  intemperance  have  been 
notoriously  packed  in  past  years. 

The  dominant  party  has  a  majority  on  each  standing  com- 
mittee, but  it  is  customary  to  have  a  minority  representa- 
tion on  each  one.  Thus  it  was  regarded  as  a  dangerous 
innovation  when,  in  1917,  the  committee  on  constitutional 
amendments  was  constituted  completely  of  Republicans.^^' 

The  assignment  of  members  to  committees  gives  oppor- 
tunity for  spite  work  as  well  as  the  offering  of  rewards. 
When  James  Grant  was  Speaker  of  the  House  he  put  Gil- 
man  Folsom,  a  lawyer,  as  last  man  on  the  judiciary  com- 
mittee, placing  over  him  two  members  who  were  younger 
and  who  were  not  lawyers.    Folsom  refused  to  serve  and 

117  In  1907  there  was  one  committee,  of  which  none  of  the  members  of  the 
previous  session  were  returned  to  the  legislature. —  The  Eegister  and  Leader 
(Des  Moines),  January  17,  1907. 

118  Tfte  Iowa  State  Eegister  (Weekly,  Des  Moines),  January  19,  1900;  The 
Eegister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  January  18,  1911,  February  19,  24,  1913; 
The  Des  Moines  Eegister,  January  15,  1917;  House  Journal,  1897,  p.  511; 
The  Iowa  Magazine,  Vol.-  I,  No.  4,  p.  8. 

ii»  The  Des  Moines  Eegister,  January  17,  1917. 


72  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

was  very  abusive  of  the  Speaker  throughout  the  session.  J. 
B.  Weaver,  representative  from  Polk  in  the  Thirty- seventh 
General  Assembly,  did  not  receive  committee  appointments 
commensurate  with  his  ability. ^^" 

The  candidates  for  Speaker  usually  begin  making  out 
their  committee  lists  before  the  party  caucus  is  called.  It 
is  such  a  large  task  that  otherwise  it  can  not  be  completed 
by  the  time  the  committees  must  be  announced.  In  1896 
Byers  waited  until  after  his  nomination  by  the  caucus  be- 
fore he  began  making  committee  lists  and  as  a  result  he  was 
late  in  announcing  them.^^^ 

The  sifting  committee  is  an  important  standing  commit- 
tee in  which  minions  of  the  Speaker  can  render  unusually 
valuable  service.  In  1917  the  even  division  of  the  House 
made  a  partisan  sifting  committee  impossible.  An  attempt 
to  take  the  appointment  of  such  a  committee  out  of  the 
Speaker 's  hands  failed  by  the  narrow  margin  of  fifty-five  to 
fifty-two  and  as  finally  composed  it  contained  three  mem- 
bers from  each  faction. ^^^ 

The  Speaker  himself  has  at  times  been  a  member  of  a 
standing  committee.  In  1878  and  1884  he  was  made  ex 
officio  chairman  of  the  committee  on  rules,  and  in  1909  he 
was  a  member  of  the  same  committee.^^^ 

Select  committees  are  appointed  by  the  Speaker  through- 
out the  session  for  numerous  purposes.  There  is  little 
chance  here  for  partisanship  as  most  of  the  work  is  routine 

120  Pioneer  Lawmakers'  Association  of  Iowa,  Proceedings,  1896,  p.  33.  See 
quotation  from  The  Iowa  Falls  Citizen  in  The  Des  Moines  Begister,  March  23, 
1917. 

12-L  The  Iowa  State  Begister  (Daily,  Des  Moines),  January  6,  1894;  The 
Iowa  State  Begister  (Weekly,  Des  Moines),  January  7,  1898. 

122  The  Des  Moines  Begister,  April  11,  1917;  House  Journal,  1917,  pp.  1879, 
1880. 

128  House  Journal,  1878,  p.  37,  1884,  p.  18,  1909,  p.  144. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  73 

or  at  least  does  not  affect  legislation.  An  interesting  co- 
incidence occurred,  however,  in  the  last  session  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly.  Speaker  Pitt  appointed  a  committee  wholly 
of  Eepublicans  to  draft  a  resolution  endorsing  Wilson  —  a 
Democratic  President. ^^* 

An  essential  concomitant  of  the  power  of  committee  ap- 
pointment is  the  power  of  referring  bills  to  committees. 
In  this  particular,  the  Speaker  has  practically  unquestioned 
authority.  Each  bill,  when  it  is  introduced  is  referred  by 
him  to  some  committee.  Thus  his  control  over  legislation 
is  made  complete.  What  matters  it  if  the  committee  on  the 
suppression  of  intemperance  is  ''dry"  when  the  joint  reso- 
lution providing  for  statewide  prohibition  is  sent  to  the 
committee  on  constitutional  amendments!  To  be  sure,  the 
committees  in  the  Iowa  House  do  not  finally  decide  the  fate 
of  all  bills.  There  is  considerable  discussion  on  the  floor; 
but  in  many  cases  the  action  of  committees  determines  the 
result.  The  sifting  committee  is  especially  powerful  in  this 
regard. 

When  the  House  goes  into  committee  of  the  whole,  the 
Speaker  leaves  the  chair  and  appoints  another  to  preside  in 
his  place.  The  Speaker  must,  however,  remain  on  hand  to 
take  the  chair  Avhenever  the  committee  decides  to  rise,  or 
when  a  message  from  the  Senate  arrives.  In  the  adjourned 
session  of  1873  Representative  Kasson  acted  regularly  as 
chairman  of  the  committee  of  the  whole.  In  most  sessions, 
however,  the  duty  is  passed. around  among  the  members. 
Although  the  committee  of  the  whole  has  fallen  into  disuse, 
there  was  formerly  a  "custom- rule"  that  the  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  rules,  who  was  usually  the  caucus  chair- 
man of  the  majority  party,  was  chosen  to  preside  over  the 
committee  of  the  whole  House.^^ 

124  The  Des  Moines  Begister,  February  4,  1917. 

^2^  House  Bules,  1917,  Rule  68;  House  Journal,  1873,  pp.  28,  50,  55,  147, 
148,  149. 


74  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

XII 

THE  SPEAKER:  A  MEMBER  OP  THE  HOUSE 

The  member  who  is  elected  Speaker  does  not  relinquish 
his  rights  as  a  member  from  his  district.  He  has  the  right 
to  vote,  and  indeed  in  all  cases  of  a  call  of  yeas  and  nays  he 
must  vote.  In  other  cases  he  is  not  required  to  vote  unless 
the  House  is  equally  divided  or  unless  his  vote,  if  given  to 
the  minority,  would  make  the  division  equal.  In  calling  the 
roll  on  votes  the  names  of  the  members  are  called  alpha- 
betically, except  that  of  ' '  Mr.  Speaker ' '  which  is  called  last. 
Frequently  the  Speaker's  vote  is  necessary  to  break  a  tie; 
to  create  a  tie ;  to  complete  a  two-thirds  vote,  or  to  make  a 
quorum.  In  the  even  division  of  the  1917  House  the  vote  of 
the  Speaker  was  often  the  decisive  factor  in  the  result. 
The  Speaker  has  been  known  to  explain  his  vote,  a  thing 
frequently  done  by  members. ^^^ 

Motions  have  been  made  by  Iowa  Speakers,  resolutions 
and  petitions  have  been  offered,  bills  have  been  introduced, 
and  places  on  select  committees  have  been  assigned  them  by 
the  House.  Not  for  many  years  has  a  Speaker  in  Iowa 
introduced  a  bill,  but  Speaker  Atkinson  in  the  Thirty-sixth 
General  Assembly  offered  an  amendment  to  a  bill.^^'^ 

Not  infrequently  has  the  Iowa  Speaker  exercised  his 
right  as  a  member  to  speak  on  measures  from  the  floor  of 
the  House.  James  M.  Morgan,  when  Speaker  of  the  Sev- 
enth Legislative  Assembly,  made  a  speech  forty  or  fifty 
minutes  in  length  on  the  question  of  State  boundaries.  It 
was  spoken  of  as  ''decidedly  the  ablest  effort  that  has  been 
made  upon  the  subject  of  our  constitution,  admission  into 

126  House  Bules,  1917,  Eules  7,  36;    The  Bes  Moines  Begister,  March  10, 
•  1917;  House  Journal,  1897,  p.  283,  1915,  p.  704,  1917,  pp.  820,  821,  823,  825, 

1323,  1999. 

127  House  Journal,  1843-1844,  pp.  33,  132,  203,  1848-1849,  p.  219,  1880,  p. 
12,  1915,  p.  1842,  1917,  p.  281. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  75 

the  Union,  boundaries  &c."  James  Grant,  Speaker  of  the 
Fourth  General  Assembly,  would  upon  occasion,  take  the 
floor  for  the  purpose  of  answering  criticisms  and  attacks  of 
members.  Jacob  Butler,  in  the  Tenth  General  Assembly, 
made  frequent  use  of  the  floor  in  debate.  ''He  would  fre- 
quently resign  the  gavel  to  some  other  member,  descend 
from  the  speaker's  stand,  walk  about  half  way  up  the  aisle, 
face  about,  and  address  himself  to  the  subject  with  a  vigor 
of  voice,  manner  and  gesticulation  that  left  no  doubt  of  his 
earnestness. ' '  He  used  the  privilege  to  such  an  extent  that 
objection  was  made.  Upon  one  occasion  after  he  had  left 
the  chair  and  made  a  violent  speech  against  a  bill,  Addison 
Oliver  of  Monona  County,  who  was  opposed  to  the  bill,  but 
still  more  opposed  to  the  Speaker's  coming  down  on  the 
floor  to  speak,  protested  that  * '  Our  Speaker  is  neglecting  the 
duties  of  the  position  to  which  we  elected  him,  and  coming 
down  on  this  floor  to  influence  our  votes ;  he  jumps  around 
among  us  like  a  stump-tailed  bull  in  fly-time.  "^^  In  the 
Twenty-ninth  General  Assembly,  Speaker  Eaton,  during 
the  debate  on  the  bill  providing  for  the  teaching  of  music  in 
the  public  schools  of  Iowa,  left  the  chair  after  calling 
Speaker  pro  tempore  Kendall  to  preside.  Kendall  recog- 
nized Eaton,  addressing  him  as  "the  gentleman  fr.om 
Mitchell";  and  Eaton  spoke  in  favor  of  the  bill.  In  the 
Thirty-seventh  General  Assembly,  "Speaker  Pitt,  on  at 
least  two  different  occasions,  addressed  the  House  from  the 
Speaker's  station,  which  was  entirely  out  of  order  and  not 
in  conformity  with  the  House  Rules.  "^-^ 

i28  7oit;a  Capitol  Reporter  (Iowa  City),  June  7,  1845;  Pioneer  Lawmakers' 
Association  of  Iowa,  Proceedings,  1894,  p.  45,  1896,  p.  33,  1898,  p.  23;  The 
AnnaU  of  Iowa  (First  Series),  Vol.  X,  p.  231. 

129  Taken  from  a  letter  from  W.  C.  Kamsay,  Chief  Clerk  of  the  Iowa  House 
of  Representatives  in  1917,  in  possession  of  The  State  Historical  Society  of 
Iowa. 


76  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

XIII 
FORMALITIES  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  SESSION 

Corresponding  to  the  installation  of  the  Speaker  is  the 
formality  in  connection  with  the  ending  of  his  services  as 
such  toward  the  close  of  the  session.  It  has  been  customary 
from  the  very  earliest  times  for  resolutions  of  thanks  to  be 
tendered  the  Speaker  for  his  fair  and  impartial  conduct  as 
presiding  officer.  While  in  the  First  Legislative  Assembly 
there  was  a  call  for  the  yeas  and  nays  on  this  resolution  and 
three  nays  were  recorded,  it  has  ever  since  been  unani- 
mously adopted.  Even  the  resolution  thanking  Jacob 
Butler  for  his  impartial  conduct  was  adopted  unanimously. 
And  yet  this  resolution  is  not  a  mere  formality.  In  the 
realization  that  the  last  day  of  the  session  has  arrived 
there  is  a  certain  sense  of  impending  loss  which  brings  the 
members  closer  together  in  their  regard  one  for  another, 
and  the  members  feel  that  the  Speaker  has  been  as  impar- 
tial as  could  be  expected  —  that  his  rulings  were  not  so 
partisan  as  they  had  seemed  in  the  heat  of  the  struggle.^^*^ 

Sometimes  little  is  done  aside  from  the  adoption  of  the 
resolution.  But  oftentimes  speeches  are  made  by  several 
of  the  members.  Occasionally  the  minority  members  offer 
a  separate  resolution  of  thanks.  The  Speaker  is  usually 
presented  with  the  chair  he  has  occupied  during  the  session, 
and  the  gavel  he  has  used  in  keeping  order.  Oftentimes 
other  presents  are  given  him.  Formerly  the  Speaker,  upon 
announcing  that  the  House  was  adjourned  sine  die,  deliv- 
ered a  short  farewell  speech  to  the  House.  Frequently  the 
closing  hours  of  a  session  are  utilized  for  the  purpose  of 
relieving  the  nervous  strain  occasioned  by  the  work  of  the 
last  few  days  in  a  wild  and  reckless  abandon  —  a  ' '  rough 
house".     Books  and  papers,  waste  baskets  and  spittoons 

130  House  Journal,  1838-1839,  p.  285,  1841-1842,  p.  279,  1864,  p.  650. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  77 

are  thrown  at  members'  heads,  attempts  to  speak  are  guf- 
fawed into  silence,  and  animosities  of  the  session  are 
drowned  in  hilarity. ^^^ 

XIV 
THE  SPEAKER  PRO  TEMPORE 

Apparently  the  first  two  Speakers  in  the  Legislative  As- 
sembly of  Iowa  were  very  attentive  to  their  duties,  for  the 
journals  of  the  first  two  sessions  show  no  instances  of  a 
Speaker  pro  tenipore}^^  True,  in  the  Second  Legislative 
Assembly  a  member  took  the  chair  for  a  few  minutes  one 
day  in  the  last  week  of  the  session  for  the  purpose  of  enter- 
taining a  resolution  of  thanks  to  Speaker  Johnstone ;  but  it 
was  not  until  late  in  the  Third  Legislative  Assembly  that 
the  necessity  arose  for  a  Speaker  pro  tempore  to  preside  in 
the  place  of  the  Speaker.  Thomas  Cox  was  sick  toward  the 
end  of  the  session  and  not  able  to  attend  to  his  duties  regu- 
larly. On  Tuesday,  January  5, 1841,  this  record  was  entered 
in  the  House  Journal:  **In  consequence  of  the  absence  of 
the  Speaker,  Mr.  Lash  was  appointed  Speaker  pro  tem- 
pore." How  he  was  chosen  is  not  revealed.  Later,  on  the 
afternoon  of  January  11th,  Laurel  Summers  was  appointed 
Speaker  pro  tempore  on  motion.^^ 

1^^  House  Journal,  1858,  p.  823,  1860,  p.  664,  1864,  p.  652,  1866,  p.  737, 
1882,  p.  613,  1902,  p.  1290,  1913,  pp.  2778,  2779,  1915,  p.  2110,  1917,  p.  2092; 
The  Eegister  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  April  10,  1907,  April  10,  1909. 

132  Assuredly  there  was  then,  as  there  is  now,  a  temporary  chairman,  spoken 
of  in  the  Journal  as  Speaker  pro  tern,  but  more  properly  known  as  organization 
Speaker,  who  presided  until  the  session  Speaker  was  elected.  In  this  section, 
for  the  purpose  of  clearness,  the  member  who  calls  the  House  to  order  on  the 
first  day  of  the  session  will  be  termed  temporary  chairman;  the  member  who 
is  chosen  to  serve  until  a  permanent  Speaker  is  elected  will  be  spoken  of  as 
organization  Speaker;  the  term  Speaker  pro  tempore  being  reserved  for  the 
permanent  Speaker  pro  tempore,  elected  to  serve  throughout  the  session. 

133  Bouse  Journal,  1839-1840,  p.  221,  1840-1841,  pp.  227,  253. 


78  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

For  many  years  no  Speaker  pro  tempore  was  elected  to 
serve  throughout  the  session  as  is  done  to-day.  He  was  not 
selected  until  necessity  arose,  often  toward  the  close  of  the 
session.  Even  then  he  was  appointed  or  elected  sometimes 
for  the  day  only.  Probably  this  fact  was  a  result  of  the 
House  rule  which  provided  that  ''in  case  of  the  absence  of 
the  regular  Speaker,  the  House  may  procee*d  to  elect  a 
Speaker  pro  ^em."  Accordingly  for  several  years  the 
Speaker  pro  tempore  was  not  elected  until  along  in  the  ses- 
sion when  the  Speaker  chanced  to  be  absent.  Since  1882, 
however,  the  practice  has  been  to  elect  the  Speaker  pro 
tempore  ''for  the  session"  very  early,  usually  soon  after 
the  Speaker  and  other  officers  are  selected.^^^  An  attempt 
to  comply  with  the  rule  which  provides  that  he  may  be 
elected  "in  case  of  the  absence  of  the  regular  Speaker"  is 
seen  in  the  fact  that  it  was  customary  for  the  Speaker  to 
either  absent  himself  or  resign  the  chair  during  the  election 
of  Speaker  pro  tempore.  Indeed,  in  one  session  the  Speaker 
asked  the  House  to  so  elect  before  he  resigned  the  chair. 
The  wording  of  this  rule  was  changed  in  1909  and  now 
reads:  "The  house  shall  at  its  pleasure  elect  a  speaker  pro 
tempore."  In  the  last  three  sessions  the  Speaker  has  re- 
tained the  chair  during  the  election  of  the  Speaker  pro 
tempore.'^^^ 

At  present  the  Speaker  pro  tempore  is  nominated  by  the 
party  caucus*  at  the  same  time  as  is  the  regular  Speaker, 
and  the  formal  election  in  the  House  is  but  a  ratification  of 

134  An  exception  is  found  in  1896,  when  the  Speaker  pro  tempore  was  not 
elected  until  February  25th. —  House  Journal,  1896,  p.  489,  1882,  p.  40,  1884, 
p.  40,  1886,  p.  41,  1900,  p.  13,  1917,  p.  10. 

tsa  House  Bules,  1864,  Eule  5,  1909,  Eule  5,  1917,  Eule  5;  House  Journal, 
1843-1844,  p.  89,  1850-1851,  p.  305,  1858,  p.  476,  1862,  p.  53,  1874,  p.  171, 
1878,  p.  65,  1880,  p.  286,  1888,  p.  17,  1892,  pp.  20,  21,  1897,  p.  30,  1898,  p. 
101,  1900,  p.  13,  1902,  p.  14,  1904,  p.  9,  1906,  p.  9,  1907,  p.  9,  1913,  p.  14, 
1915,  p.  12,  1917,  p.  10. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  79 

this  nomination.  The  election  is  usually  unanimous:  in- 
frequently two  candidates  are  presented.  In  the  adjourned 
session  of  1873  the  Speaker  pro  tempore  of  the  regular 
session  served  without  question  but  at  the  opening  of  the 
extra  session  of  1897  the  Speaker  pro  tempore  of  the  regu- 
lar session  was  reelected.  The  installation  of  the  Speaker 
pro  tempore  is  practically  identical  with  that  of  the 
Speaker.  ^^® 

The  Speaker  pro  tempore  presides  in  place  of  the  Speaker 
when  that  official  is  absent  or  resigns  the  chair  and  calls 
him  to  preside.  The  Speaker  need  not  necessarily  call  the 
Speaker  pro  tempore  to  the  chair  when  he  vacates  it;  but  he 
does  so  usually,  unless  it  is  when  the  House  goes  into  com- 
mittee of  the  whole.^^^  "The  acts  of  the  speaker  pro  tem- 
pore shall  have  the  same  validity  as  those  of  the  speaker." 
The  Speaker  pro  tempore  when  in  the  chair  may  appoint 
committees ;  settle  points  of  order ;  maintain  order ;  in  short 
—  he  may  exercise  all  the  prerogatives  of  the  office,  in- 
cluding the  signing  of  bills.  A  resolution  of  thanks  is 
customarily  voted  to  the  Speaker  pro  tempore,  at  the  close 
of  the  session,  for  his  fair  and  impartial  treatment  of  mem- 
bers on  the  occasions  when  he  presided.  In  1917  such  a 
resolution  was  offered  in  connection  with  the  Speaker  pro 
tempore,  but  was  neglected  in  case  of  the  Speaker  himself."* 
Extra  pay  was  given  the  Speaker  pro  tempore  during  the 

136  Eouse  Journal,  1897,  p.  30,  1917,  pp.  10,  11. 

137  Eouse  Eules,  1917,  Rule  5. 

While  in  1917  seven  members  other  than  the  Speaker  pro  tempore  were 
called  to  the  chair  by  Speaker  Pitt,  Speaker  pro  tempore  McFarlane  presided 
in  the  majority  of  cases. —  See  Index  to  House  Journal,  1917. 

138  While  the  E<Mse  Journal  of  1917  shows  no  evidence  of  a  formal  resolu- 
tion of  thanks  for  the  Speaker's  services,  J.  B.  Weaver,  in  presenting  Mr. 
Pitt  with  a  gold  watch  on  behalf  of  the  House,  ' '  expressed  the  appreciation  of 
the  house  in  the  fairness  of  the  speaker". —  The  Bes  Moines  Register,  April 
14,  1917. 


80  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

Territorial  period  for  the  time  he  served  in  the  chair  as 
Speaker,  and  the  Speaker  received  no  compensation  for 
those  days.  At  the  close  of  the  session  of  the  Third  Legis- 
lative Assembly,  John  B.  Lash  received  extra  compensation 
for  six  days  service  as  Speaker  pro  tempore  and  Laurel 
Summers  was  paid  according  "to  the  time  which  he  may 
serve",  which  was  five  days.  Thomas  Cox,  the  Speaker, 
was  paid  only  for  the  time  he  served  and  not  for  the  entire 
session  as  was  the  case  later.^^^ 

The  compensation,  in  addition  to  his  salary  as  a  member, 
which  has  been  awarded  the  Speaker  pro  tempore  since 
1846  has  been  anything  but  regular.  In  the  First  General 
Assembly,  the  Speaker  pro  tempore  was  not  paid  at  all  for 
his  services  as  such,  but  the  organization  Speaker  was  given 
four  dollars  for  service  as  presiding  officer  during  two  days 
at  the  opening  of  the  session.  The  Speaker  received  his 
usual  double  compensation  —  two  dollars  a  day  for  the  full 
length  of  the  session,  or  eighty-eight  days.  In  1858,  both 
the  organization  Speaker  and  the  Speaker  pro  tempore 
were  given  pay  for  the  days  during  which  they  served  in 
the  chair.  The  Speaker  was  paid  for  only  the  time  after  his 
election.  In  1862,  1864,  and  1866,  the  Speaker  pro  tempore 
was  paid,  but  the  organization  Speaker  was  neglected.  But 
in  1868  the  organization  Speaker  was  the  only  one  to  re- 
ceive compensation,  while  in  1870  no  extra  pay  was  allowed 
any  of  the  pro  tempore  Speakers.  After  the  contest  of  1874 
the  organization  Speaker,  who  was  also  later  elected  Speak- 
er pro  tempore,  received  an  extra  stipend  for  his  work  as  ■ 
organization  Speaker,  but  nothing  for  service  in  the  chair 

130  iToMse  Eules,  1917,  Kule  5;  Reid's  Thomas  Cox,  p.  174;  The  Bes  Moines 
Eegister,  April  3,  1917;  Eouse  Journal,  1840-1841,  pp.  243,  272,  274,  276, 
294,  1870,  pp.  106,  111,  1909,  p.  1513,  1913,  p.  2250,  1915,  pp.  1613,  1922, 
1917,  pp.  2172,  2173. 

The  Speaker  pro  tempore  of  the  Thirty-seventh  General  Assembly  signed  no 
bills. 


SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  81 

as  Speaker  pro  tempore.  In  this  session  extra  pay  was 
given  the  Speaker  for  only  the  number  of  days  remaining 
after  his  election.  ^^ 

In  1890  the  custom  of  paying  the  temporary  chairman  — 
the  member  from  Polk  County  who  calls  the  House  to  order 
—  was  instituted ;  probably  because  he  served  fifteen  days 
before  the  organization  Speaker  was  elected.  The  organ- 
ization Speaker  also  served  twenty-four  days  before  Speak- 
er Hamilton  was  elected,  and  received  five  dollars  a  day  for 
the  period.  Contrary  to  the  precedent  of  the  session  of 
1874,  Speaker  Hamilton  received  extra  pay  for  the  full  ses- 
sion. Speaker  pro  tempore  Silas  Wilson  was  not  given  ex- 
tra pay.  But  the  custom  of  paying  both  the  temporary 
chairman  and  the  organization  Speaker  continued  down 
through  the  Twenty-eighth  General  Assembly.  Since  1900 
neither  the  temporary  chairman,  the  organization  Speaker, 
nor  the  Speaker  pro  tempore  has  received  extra  compensa- 
tion. Thus  it  is  seen  that  it  was  not  customary  for  the 
Speaker  pro  tempore  to  receive  extra  pay  even  in  early 
times,  and  that  he  has  not  been  awarded  this  appreciation 
of  service  at  all  since  1866.^^^ 

The  Speaker  pro  tempore  retains  all  his  rights  as  a  rep- 
resentative from  his  district.^^^  jj^  jg  assigned  to  the  stand- 

140  Laws  of  loica,  1846-1847,  Ch.  124,  pp.  183-187,  1858,  Ch.  161,  Sec.  23, 
p.  416,  1862,  Ch.  130,  p.  149,  1864,  Ch.  104,  p.  120,  1866,  Ch.  94,  Sec.  61,  p. 
101,  1874   (Private),  Chs.  1,  75,  pp.  2,  62. 

In  1878,  1884,  1886,  and  1888,  the  organization  Speaker  received  extra  pay 
for  the  two  days  he  served  as  presiding  ofl5cer. —  Laws  of  Iowa,  1878,  Ch.  170,  p. 
158,  1884,  Ch.  129,  p.  129,  1886,  Ch.  167,  p.  202,  1888,  Ch.  110,  p.  147. 

141  Laws  of  Iowa,  1866,  Ch.  94,  Sec.  61,  p.  101,  1890,  Ch.  65,  p.  96,  1900, 
Ch.  149,  p.  106. 

True,  J.  G.  Newbold,  Speaker  pro  tempore  in  1874,  received  sixty  dollars 
for  twelve  days  service  in  the  chair,  but  it  was  for  service  as  organization 
Speaker  and  not  as  Speaker  pro  tempore. —  Laws  of  Iowa,  1874  (Private), 
Ch.  1. 

142  Sometimes  his  election  to  the  position  of  Speaker  pro  tempore  is  due  to  a 

VOL.  xvn — 6 


82  SPEAKER  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

ing  committees  as  is  any  other  member,  he  votes,  speaks 
on  bills,  offers  amendments,  and  even  introduces  bills. 
Very  infrequently  is  his  position  one  of  much  power.  In 
the  session  of  1890,  the  unsuccessful  candidate  for  the 
speakership  was  made  Speaker  pro  tempore  and  was  ac- 
corded the  privilege  of  making  up  the  minority  representa- 
tion on  the  standing  committees.  Throughout  the  session 
he  was  the  possessor  of  much  more  power  as  the  leader  oi 
his  party  than  the  Speaker  pro  tempore  usually  obtains. 
While  the  prominence  and  power  of  the  Speaker  pro  tem- 
pore are  not  comparable  to  that  of  the  Speaker,  he  is  com- 
pensated by  the  fact  that  he  is  not  censured  and  criticised 
by  the  members  as  is  the  Speaker.^^^ 

Cyeil  B.  Upham 

The  State  Historical  Society  of  Iowa 
Iowa  City 

desire  to  eliminate  the  necessity  of  considering  him  as  a  candidate  for  chair- 
man of  an  important  committee. 

143  T7ie  Bes  Moines  Leader    (Weekly),  February  27,   1890,     See  Index  to 
'Souse  Journal,  1917. 


YD  01685 


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ONIVERSrrV  OF  CAUFORNIA  UBRARY 


